{"id":3524,"date":"2016-05-25T18:03:27","date_gmt":"2016-05-25T09:03:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/evergreenhostel.com\/?p=3524"},"modified":"2016-05-25T18:03:27","modified_gmt":"2016-05-25T09:03:27","slug":"%e3%80%90tourism%e3%80%91shos-hiroshima-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/evergreenhostel.com\/en\/2016\/05\/25\/%e3%80%90tourism%e3%80%91shos-hiroshima-report\/%20","title":{"rendered":"\u3010Tourism\u3011Sho\u2019s Hiroshima Report"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sho-san is a friend of mine and visited Hiroshima all the way from Tokyo.\u00a0 Here\u2019s her travelogue.\u00a0 I am sure it will give you some tips for your journey plans.<\/p>\n

(Text enclosed by the marks \u203b is additional information from me, Hazuki)<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

****<\/p>\n

I visited my friend\u2019s new home! And also, I managed to meet up with my younger colleague, now working in Hiroshima.\u00a0 This is my third time in Hiroshima.\u00a0 My main purpose was to pay a visit at new home of Hazuki and her husband and I was taken to various places during my stay for two full days.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u3010Day1\u3011<\/p>\n

\u25ce From Narita to Hiroshima Airport<\/strong><\/p>\n

LCC from Narita Airport is such a money saver flying to Hiroshima and it even pays off your journey to Narita from central Tokyo.\u00a0 Highly recommended!<\/p>\n

\"IMG_1634\"<\/p>\n

\u203bSpring Japan Airlines : http:\/\/jp.ch.com\/<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Flight from Tokyo (Narita) to Hiroshima is available from \\5690.\u00a0 Depending on the day of the week a single ticket can be as low as \\4,600!\u00a0 Narita takes longer to get from central Tokyo than Haneda, but it\u2019s well worth it! \u203b<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u25ce Takehara City Scenic Reserve Area<\/strong><\/p>\n

We stopped off in the \u201cTownscape Preservation District\u201d, nationally designated in 1982.\u00a0 Lovely area.\u00a0 Spent an hour strolling around.\u00a0 Also dropped in Michi-No-Eki, a roadside rest area, and bought some tai-meshi<\/em> [local rice dish with sea bream cooked in soup stock] and tako-meshi<\/em> [another local rice dish with octopus cooked in soup stock] \u2026.they were yummy.<\/p>\n

\"DSC01622\"<\/p>\n

\"DSC01620\"<\/p>\n

\"DSC01618\"<\/p>\n

\"DSC01613\" \"DSC01614\"<\/p>\n

The jam and preserve manufacturer, Aohata\u2019s jam factory is near the Tadanoumi Ferry Terminal.\u00a0 I want to try their factory tour next time!<\/p>\n

\u203bThe city of Takehara once prospered as the manor of Kyoto\u2019s Shimogamo Shrine during Heian Period and it is often known as \u201cLittle Kyoto of Aki\u201d.\u00a0 Its oldest architecture is said to date back as far as 1691 (in Genroku Era Year 4) and there are many more of various historical buildings.\u00a0 It is so amazing that those buildings are not just well preserved but are currently used as houses or stores. \u203b<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u25ce\u201cRabbit Island\u201d (Okunoshima Island)<\/strong><\/p>\n

It takes about 13 min by boat from Tadanoumi Port and I landed on this Rabbit Island, full of bunnies!\u00a0 A soft and fluffy \u201cmofu mofu\u201d welcome by numerous rabbits.\u00a0 How many are there?\u00a0 It seems almost countless and there are burrows everywhere too.\u00a0 The entire island is literally a place for rabbits.<\/p>\n

Carrots are a must.\u00a0 You will be popular immediately and surrounded by hungry bunnies.\u00a0 You may be surprised that they have strong jaws and easily snatch carrots away.\u00a0 It\u2019s strongly recommended to take at least three carrots with you.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"DSC01699\"\u00a0\u3000\"DSC01700\"\u00a0\u3000\"DSC01703\"<\/p>\n

\u203b\u25b2Rabbits dash off to Sho-san\u00a0 (in her 20s from Tokyo) with fresh carrots and she has instantly made it to the top of the rabbit idol. \u203b<\/span><\/p>\n

\"DSC01709\"\u3000<\/span>\"DSC01694\"<\/p>\n

\u203b\u25b2Then rabbits grab carrots and surround them making a bunny circle. \u203b<\/span><\/p>\n

Aren\u2019t they just lovely!\u00a0 The island is so close from the port and easily accessible.<\/p>\n

\u25ce Okonomiyaki<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I had an okonomiyaki<\/em> [a savory pancake known to be Hiroshima\u2019s famous local food] at a local okonomiyaki<\/em> restaurant that is less advertised for tourists but rather, most local people go regularly.\u00a0 It WAS yummy! And I say YUMMY! Okonomiyaki<\/em> in Hiroshima style, I love it!<\/p>\n

\"DSC01826\"
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\u203bI thought it best for her to try so I introduced her to the okonomiyaki<\/em> restaurant loved by our neighbourhood.\u00a0 She could feel that okonomiyaki<\/em> is part of Hiroshima people\u2019s everyday life. \u203b<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u25ceKintai-kyo Bridge<\/strong><\/p>\n

We decided to head for Yamaguchi after the okonomiyaki<\/em>, and it was 20:00!\u00a0 The reason for this spontaneous action was that Hazuki repeatedly recommended the restaurant called \u201cSanzoku\u201d and it became almost irresistible!\u00a0\u00a0 There is a saying in Hiroshima \u201cOne must drive to Sanzoku when you got your first driving licence\u201d, meaning it is sort of a first challenge for driving beginners.<\/p>\n

Before heading directly to Sanzoku, we stopped at Kintai-kyo Bridge, one of three major unusual bridges in Japan, along the way.\u00a0 It was my first step on Yamaguchi Prefecture!!!\u00a0 There was no one on the bridge and it was lit up.\u00a0\u00a0 Kintai-kyo Bridge at night was great.\u00a0 Three arches make up the bridge and it was rather steep.\u00a0 Step up and down the arch and you repeat it three times.\u00a0 Initially I had no interest in bridges but indeed it was such a super experience!<\/p>\n

\"DSC01852\" \"DSC01861\"<\/p>\n

\u203b\u25b2 No one else but two hyper girls on the mysterious Kintai-kyo Bridge at night. \u203b<\/span><\/p>\n

Iwakuni Castle is on the top of the mountain behind the bridge.\u00a0 It\u2019s so exciting for me to see castles on the mountain somehow and this Iwakuni Castle is definitely a must visit someday.<\/p>\n

\"DSC01842\"<\/p>\n

\u203b\u25b2 The light in the sky in the photo above is Iwakuni Castle.\u00a0 It sure is difficult to attack. \u203b<\/span><\/p>\n

\u25ceSanzoku [meaning brigand]<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hazuki often told me that I would completely be surprised by Sanzoku, a kind of Japanese restaurant.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t know what exactly, to be honest.\u00a0 After driving through the pitch-dark mountains of Yamaguchi Prefecture for an hour and a half, there suddenly appeared red lanterns, numerous koinobori<\/em> [windsocks in the shape and design of a carp], huge papier-m\u00e2ch\u00e9 as stage setting, and for some reason, Totoro [a well-known anime character from My Neighbor Totoro<\/em> created by Miyazaki\u2019s Studio Ghibli] as well\u2026. While it\u2019s surrounded by full darkness this place is spotlighted and as bright as day.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ah, so this is a hideout of sanzoku<\/em> [brigand].<\/p>\n

\"\u3044\u308d\u308a\u5c71\u8cca\u3000\"\u3044\u308d\u308a\u5c71\u8cca<\/p>\n

It certainly was a bizarre place.<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

A Sazoku-nigiri<\/em> is a humongous rice ball (4 kinds of fillings inside!), equivalent to two fists.\u00a0 A Sanzoku-yaki<\/em> is a chicken leg which is their specialty.\u00a0 We started eating around 23:00 and finished them all.\u00a0 Oink!<\/p>\n

\"\u3044\u308d\u308a\u5c71\u8cca\u3000\"image\"<\/p>\n

\u203b\u25b2 First time to be seated around \u201cirori<\/em>\u201d [hearth].\u00a0 Sitting cross-legged and exchange cups of sake, you are already a true sanzoku.\u00a0 You will need to book a designated driver. \u203b<\/span><\/p>\n

You will not see how great it is unless you visit Sanzoku!!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u203bIt is hard to get there by public transport.\u00a0 Driving a car is the easiest but car hire can be costly.\u00a0 Why not try the following combination?<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  • Taxi from Shinkansen Shin-iwakuni Station :\u00a0About 15min (3,000 JPY)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
      \n
    • Taxi from JR Gantoku Line Kuga Station:About 5 min (<1,000 JPY), 10-min walk from Kinmeiji Station<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
        \n
      • Bocho Bus from Iwakuni or Tokuyama Stations getting off at \u201cNoguchi Dao\u201d Stop which is in front of the restaurant<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

         <\/p>\n

        Irori Sanzoku, Kuga Branch<\/span>
        \nAddress:\u00a0 Kuga cho 1380-1, Iwakuni City, Yamaguchi Prefecture<\/span>
        \nTel:\u00a0 0827-82-3115<\/span>
        \nOpen: 9:30am \u2013 3:00am (last orders by 2:00am); Mondays 9:30 \u2013 24:00 (last orders by 23:00)<\/span>
        \nClosed on Tuesdays and 30 Dec \u2013 3 Jan \u203b<\/span><\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        \u3010Day 2\u3011<\/p>\n

        \u25ce Onomichi<\/strong><\/p>\n

        We drove east for about an hour and came to Onomichi.\u00a0 It\u2019s such a wonderful place.\u00a0 Nostalgic is the word for it.<\/span><\/p>\n

        \"DSC01978\"<\/p>\n

        Narrow passageways, steep slopes and steps, and cats!\u00a0 Shops are so neat too!<\/p>\n

        \"DSC01954\" \"DSC02059\"<\/p>\n

        Onomichi is the starting point of Shimanami Kaido Expressway.\u00a0 Cyclists just came back from the ferry port.\u00a0 Well done guys!\u00a0 I\u2019m going to go cycling the whole Shimanami Kaido someday before long!<\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        \u25ceInnoshima<\/strong><\/p>\n

        This time, we drove the Shimanami Kaido and landed on Innoshima for the first time!<\/p>\n

        \"DSC02093\"<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

        This is THE Innoshima!!!\u00a0 This is where you will find Hon-inbo Shusaku\u2019s final resting place!!!<\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        \u203bInnoshima is an island located in Onomichi City, Hiroshima Prefecture (the home of Akihito Okano and Haruichi Shindo of Japanese music band “Porno Graffitti” !)<\/span><\/p>\n

        The manga Hikaru No Go<\/em> has featured Hon-inbo Shusaku the Great Master of Go as the target possessed by the spirit of Sai Fujiwara, the genius go player from Heian Period.\u00a0 Hikaru Shindo, the leading character of this manga, is then to be possessed by this spirit following Hon-inbo Shusaku. \u203b<\/span><\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        Honinbo Shusaku Igokinenkan [the game of \u2018go\u2019 memorial gallery commemorating Hon-inbo Shusaku] displays the reproduction of Yugen-No-Ma where the go stones and board are provided so you can experience the go game in THE Yugen-No-Ma [the ultra-special go<\/em> room at Nihon Ki-in].\u00a0 The manga Hikaru No Go<\/em> was also on display.\u00a0 Let us recall the scenes from Innoshima\u2026..\u00a0 Later, I managed to reproduce those scenes myself from the manga by actually visiting Honinbo Shusaku Igokinekan and the grave of Honinbo!!\u00a0 Absolutely great for Hikaru No Go<\/em> lovers!\u00a0 It is THE place for us.<\/p>\n

        \u00a0\u203bIf you don\u2019t know about this manga, Sho-san\u2019s choice of sightseeing course this time may rather be difficult to understand. But for an otaku<\/em>, this itinerary is a must.\u00a0 She just loves Hikaru No Go<\/em> so much (three times more than I do, most likely) and you can tell she was thrilled by her first visit to Innoshima.\u00a0 Pilgrimage, indeed!\u00a0 Below is the artistic collage she sent me a few days later showing her reproduction of the manga. \u203b<\/span><\/p>\n

        \"image\" \"image\"<\/p>\n

        \"image\" \"image\"<\/p>\n

        \u25ceHiroshima Airport<\/strong><\/p>\n

        A last minute splash-out on souvenirs at the airport.\u00a0 Momiji Manju and Nama-Momiji from Nishiki-Do!
        \nMaccha Financier from Cha-No-Wa!\u00a0And the last okonomiyaki<\/em> before flying back to Narita.<\/p>\n

        That\u2019ll be all, my Hiroshima report.<\/p>\n

        Genbaku Dome(A-bomb Dome) and Itsukusima Shrine were the only Hiroshima sightseeing spots I knew before this trip. I didn\u2019t know there are so many to go and see in Hiroshima.<\/p>\n

        There are so many other places like Hiroshima Castle, Shukkeien, and cycling Shimanami Kaido!\u00a0 Yamaguchi is not too far away from Hiroshima, so Iwakuni Castle and Akiyoshido Cave must be covered and many more!<\/p>\n

        I must visit Hiroshima again pretty soon!!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Sho-san is a friend of mine and visited Hiroshima all the way from Tokyo.\u00a0 Here\u2019s her travelogue.\u00a0 I am sure it will give you some tips for your journey plans. (Text enclosed by the marks \u203b is additional information from me, Hazuki)   **** I visited my friend\u2019s new home! And also, I managed to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2840,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_locale":"en_US","_original_post":"2823","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[7,34,36],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/evergreenhostel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3524"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/evergreenhostel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/evergreenhostel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/evergreenhostel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/evergreenhostel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3524"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/evergreenhostel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3524\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3529,"href":"http:\/\/evergreenhostel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3524\/revisions\/3529"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/evergreenhostel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2840"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/evergreenhostel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3524"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/evergreenhostel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3524"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/evergreenhostel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3524"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}