and this is what we saw as our ferry approached the island. Not only was it raining heavily, but the torii gate was undergoing repairs and was covered in scaffolding (we had been warned about it beforehand).
Oh well. The welcome from the local ladies and the friendly deer quickly made us forget our disappointment.
By now we were getting hungry. Time for an Okonomiyaki lunch.
Okonomiyaki is a Japanese style pancake (or some would say pizza) made with a flour and eggs batter cooked with vegetables (usually cabbage), meat, seafood and cheese, all topped with some thick sweet sauce. We tried the Hiroshima version, with several layers of each ingredient, including noodles.
and an 'special' oyster okonomiyaki with spicy noodles, green onions and cheese.
After this fulfilling meal, we went to the most important site on Miyajima, the Itsukushima Shrine.
We saw another Shinto wedding, after the one in Kamakura days before.
Ferry back to Hiroshima, then we took an old-fashioned tram...
... to visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park (Genbaku Dōmu).
The A-Bomb Dome, 600 meters above which the first atomic bomb ever used exploded.
Children's Peace Monument
Walking along some mushroom-cloud shaped hedges on the way to the Peace Flame.
The Memorial Cenotaph for the victims
Peace Clock Tower displaying the time when the bomb was dropped
We then visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, which had excellent and powerful exhibits on the bombing and its aftermath
Brought back memories of Alain Resnais' Hiroshima Mon Amour: "Tu n'as rien vu à Hiroshima. Rien."
From the museum, we walked to the commercial center of Hiroshima before heading to the train station.
Along the way we got the chance to walk on the coolest manhole cover ever:
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