This was unexpectedly one of my favorite place in Japan. It may have been because the weather was always perfect, but I enjoyed how even the city seemed to move at a bit of a slower pace.
My first day was spent walking around the Peace Park and visiting the Peace Museum full of facts about the A Bomb. After walking through the Peace Park and museum you’ll find the A Bomb Dome. A large building that still stands from the moment when the bomb dropped.
A Bomb Dome
The Hiroshima Castle, to me, is one of the better castles to see. It’s not as old and has been restored more than others, however it’s location in towering over everything else in the area make it one of my favorites.
Hiroshima Castle
My second day in Hiroshima was mostly spent hiking. I first took a 10 minute train out towards Mitaki Park where there is a great temple complete surrounded by trees and every statue is covered in moss. There is a large orange pagoda when you enter the park, but after that it’s all shades of green.
The afternoon on the second day was spent hiking up to the Peace Pagoda. The hike is similar to Fushimi Irani however it is shorter, the tori gates are red, and the top includes a panoramic view of Hiroshima.
Miyajima
Miyajima is usually done in a day trip, however staying on the island is definitely worth it. I spent two days on the island, camping a 45 minute walk away from most of the attractions.
I spent the first afternoon around the Itsukushima Shrine. It’s a great place to sit and admire or people watch while local deer attempt to steal any paper or food related items that you might have.
Itsukushima Shrine when the tide goes out most people walk out to the shrine to stick coins in for good luck.
The second day was spent hiking Mount Misen, the largest peak on the island. It’s one of the few places that I found in Japan where there is both a cable car and a hiking trail. Most trails that had a cable car often had a hiking trail that is no longer kept up. The hike to the top of Mount Misen is mostly steps, but is all covered in trees and line with creeks or canals. I was met with clouds at the top so the view wasn’t as spectacular. However, on the way down I stopped at the Daisho-in Temple that had a tower row of steps that lead up to the temple. The railing of the steps is covered in Buddhist text, Sutras, that spin and it is believed that spinning them at this temple is just as good as reading them. A great part of this temple is that there is a side trail that leads to an area of 500 Rakan statues that I felt was the best part of the temple.