Jumping around Japan

Today we decided to visit Hiroshima. It took 1 hour and 45 minutes on the bullet train from Kyoto. We visited a peace park in Hiroshima, we took a cable car from Hiroshima station. This park is a monument of World War II which took place in 1945 (1) .This park was the center area for dropping nuclear bomb by the US force and was built in 1954 for remembrance (2).
The dome’s shape has kept the same appearance since the bombs dropped back in 1945. This was kept this way so we could see the damage that the war had caused. On August 6th in every year the government has a ceremony for peace all citizens offer a moment of silent prayer for the victims at 8:15pm.

We finally arrived at Miyajima shrine by train and ferry. It took about 30 minutes by train from Hiroshima station plus 10 minutes by ferry from Miyajimakuchi station. Miyajima is an island 31 kilometers in circumference which is located Hiroshima Bay in the Seto Inland Sea.

The Itsukushima shrine was built here about 800 years ago(1). General Taira no Kiyomori erected and dedicated the shrine to the glory of the Taira clan in 1168, towards the end of the Heian Era. With beautiful green vegetation as a backdrop, the red painted shrine juts outwards creating a remarkable landscape - a shrine floating on the sea(2). The buildings are connected by a series of long roofed corridors. The pillars supporting the building are prone to water erosion. The entire complex emerges when the tide is out.

In Hiroshima, we ate two popular dishes. One of them was fresh oysters and other was a maple streamed bun. The oysters were very fresh so we could eat them raw. The Maple streamed bun is special souvenir in Hiroshima. It tasted quite sweet and it delicious with a cup of Japanese green tea. We decided to buy some and take it home for our family.