My second day in Hiroshima continued by getting out early and having a nice walk over to Hiroshima Castle. The sun was coming out and a nice breeze was blowing, so I popped on my headphones and set out. It’s a really nice walk to the castle, no matter the route you find yourself on. There had just been a couple of spring showers, so it was cool and gave me ample time for reflection.

After my brief walk and revisitation of Hiroshima Castle and the surrounding areas, it was about late morning, so II set myself on a course to another sight on my must-visit list: Shukkeien.When I had been researching the city, I tried to find a nice variety of things that I could enjoy, and being keen on nature I found Shukkeien appealing. It fit right into the grain of my day, and it’s only a brief jaunt from the castle. As stated on the website, Shukkeien literally means “shrink-scenery garden”. The basic idea behind it is to take an entire garden of mass proportion and shrink it down, so that no matter which direction you look in, there will be a beautiful landscape view. This is quite eloquently described in their online English brochure, which also states that the garden is modelled on Xihu, aka West Lake, in Hangzhou, China. It’s a wonderful experience that I highly recommend, especially if you think you need a break from the hustle and bustle of more touristy locations toward the city center. I’d like to preview a few photos from Shukkeien here, and then I plan to post a special gallery featuring more photos later because I liked it so much. Perhaps you’ll see why! :)

The sakura were beautiful right upon walking in the entry. And on the left hand side of the entrance is a tea and coffee shop, serving sets with a little snack. I had been craving some matcha, so I went over there after completing my trek around the grounds and sat down to matcha paired with a local specialty, momiji-shaped snack.

It was a nice environment to sit and have a tasty snack while enjoying your surroundings. :)

As the day moved on, I seemed to be retracing my steps from the day previous. I headed back to the A-Dome so I could take better photos than the day before, this time with the intent of actually visiting the museum and surrounding park area as well. Though I enjoyed myself regardless, I remember thinking the Hiroshima Museum was a teensy bit more grim than that its Nagasaki counterpart. I was walking about inside of the museum and once you leave the room with a general timeline and chronicle, there are some wax models of burnt children still in mid-stand. The general tone of the language was convinced of Japan’s post-war role as victim and not aggressor… a little displeasing because we all know in most wars, there were of course mistakes and blames being placed on both sides. Don’t misunderstand me – I think that everything about atomic bombs is wrong. My only problem is that as with most wars, hindsight is and should be 20/20… as many know or have heard in passing, Japan has blocked some aspects of that time out of their minds, not to mention textbooks. With all the recent developments having to do with Article 8 here in Japan – having to do with the Self Defense Forces and actual remilitarization of the country – people are having to consider these sorts of things again very seriously. It brings a lot of feelings to the table pro or anti, but that’s another, and far lengthier, conversation. My aside aside, it was basically what I expected from an atomic bomb museum having already been to the Nagasaki one twice. Similar to the Nagasaki Peace Museum and Memorials, there is a lot of garden space outside with dedicated sculptures accumulated over time. It was a peaceful walk after the crowded and abbreviated history lesson.

After visiting the museum and park, I had worked up an appetite for a quick bit of shopping. Then I stopped by an Irish bar in the area and helped myself to foods and beers I had developed quite a hankering for. :) Though I was alone, I met a few people who were quite willing to chat. It was nice! I hope to meet them again at some point on my travels.

That’s Day 2 brought to an end. My apologies for the delay in posting! I went on a quick trip to Tokyo and Matsumoto just last weekend and came back to an unfinished post, so I’ve put it up ASAP! Day 3 will be soon to follow!