From Floating Torii to Laundry Nights: Hiroshima to Osaka

Date: 18/06/2018 

Depart: Kyoto Station 

Arrive: Hiroshima Station

We were shaken awake - quite literally as the building tumbled and swayed from side to side. Our first earthquake. It centred from Osaka as a Level 6 and in Kyoto it rocked us at a Level 5. I screamed a little. It was very surreal, waking up and looking at the ceiling and seeing the walls around you move. James moved his whole body over me and said “it’s okay, it’s okay!!” It only lasted a few moments but for an earthquake virgin it was definitely one way to pop that cherry! Plus we were up and awake then ready for another travel day. 

We didn’t think about any repercussions of the quake as Japan get them almost daily and so after packing the last bits we got the local bus to the station. The station which was full! Full of people everywhere, surrounded by luggage and covering the majority of floor space. 

We grabbed some lunch to take on the train with us and optimistically headed to the Shinkansen area. It was even worse and we had absolutely no idea what was going on. We had booked a train at 12:45 but the board was still listing the trains at 8:00am. We queued up and a kind lady booked ya another train but didn’t provide much else information. We joined the other campers and then the wait began. It was at this point we realised this was not going to be a smooth ride to Hiroshima. 

Numerous delays, train and route changes later we arrived in Hiroshima feeling exhausted. Waiting in 30 degree heat and 70% humidity with a giant rucksack for a train that never comes really knocks the positivity out of you. 

After arriving at Hiroshima it was easy to find the tram and then 15 minutes later we were walking into our first hotel room of the trip and overwhelmed with happiness that they had provided weird dressing gowns and the shower looked glorious. 

We sorted ourselves out and then we needed feeding up big time. We stayed at Hiroshima Kokusai Hotel which had a great location so we went for a wander and ended up stumbling on a kind of Japanese/Spanish/Italian mash up. The place was tucked upstairs and called Fukuromach Kitchen; a blink and you’ll miss it. 

We ordered a bottle of Valdjevieso Sauvignon to drink which was consumed in record time so that quickly turned into two bottles. To eat we had the Kitchen Salad with bacon, eggs, tomatoes and croutons; tomato, mozzarella and pesto salad; banana and bacon (omfgggg); Thai curry ribs; honey ribs (ohhh!!!); and finally a margarita pizza with so much cheese you could cry. 

Fully and happy I quickly fell asleep and James stayed awake to watch a World Cup match - it wasn’t England playing so I didn’t much care. 

The next day we woke late feeling fuzzy from the previous days excitement. Upon adventuring outside we were met with some pathetic fallacy as the skies were drizzly and grey so the waterproofs had to make their first appearance. 

We headed to the A-Bomb site and Peace Memorial Park. Both are tranquil areas - startling contradiction to what once was. There was a school class visiting at the same time and so we were followed by troops of children asking us where we were from and the reason for our visit which they scribbled down each time. 

The rest of the afternoon was spent under the umbrella and wandering Hiroshima Castle. We donated some yen and both got our fortunes out of a box which was amusing. 

That evening we went in search of the famous okonomiyaki and found a little place where we could watch them make it. It’s complied of so many different layers and watching them cook it was so interesting. Once it arrived in front of me I couldn’t wait to dig in and ohhhhh it was good! Definitely go get yourself some if you’re in town. 

The next day we headed to Mijiyama Island, famous for the torii gate ‘floating’ out at sea. It was a long journey on the train and then a short ferry ride later we arrived! The day was cloudy and the crowds headed straight to the gate but we followed our stomachs and headed straight for food. Oysters are very popular on the island but we really didn’t fancy that and luckily found a little Japanese place when you took your shoes off and sat on the floor which made for a great experience as well as a yummy lunch. 

We walked down to the shrine and were greeted with lots of wild deer who were far more interested in eating newspaper. The shrine was very striking against he backdrop of the sea and mainland. We walked around the main shrine and then stopped for coffee. After our coffee the sun made an appearance and we went in search of higher ground.  

We found a beautiful area with lots of mini waterfalls and set to exploring about as best we could. After about an hour of hopping along rocks and clambering around the undergrowth we then saw a sign warning of poisonous snakes in the area - I tell you, we we’re out of there faster than two shakes of a lambs tail!! 

We had a little wander around the town and then it was back to the ferry dock and on another train destined for central Hiroshima. 

For dinner we went to a place that translated to Rice Rice Restauanrant and they served up what we started referring to as  the tray style where you have your main accompanied by rice, miso and salad. We both had chicken teriyaki and then shared chicken tempura - the waitress was a little surprised by how much we ordered and got another table for all the dishes. Yummy and filling and cheap. 

The next day it was time to move on again and so we headed to the station and got the high speed train to Shin-Osaka and then a smaller train into Osaka. We walked around and finally found our AirBnB which was lovely with the comfiest bed ever! Then very uninterestingly spent the afternoon doing a load of clothes washing. 

Later on we ventured out to see Osaka and find food. Osaka is a very different city to everywhere else we have been in Japan. It’s much more hectic, messier, touristy and loud. We found a small Italian and James got pizza and I got steak with two sides of broccoli as I needed a big dose of veg. We finished the night with a £3 bottle of wine and dessert from the shop. 

Another food market was on the agenda for our only full day in Osaka and we started with giant peaches and apples. After wondering around we settled on sticks of steak and crab for our lunch. 

We also went into a store in the middle of the market and bought fresh salmon and veg to cook with later. I miss cooking so much! 

It was crazy hot that day so we found a park on our phone maps to chill in. A couple of orange lollies and laze in the sun later and we went to our temporary home to cook dinner which turned out better than expected. I ended up wrapping the salmon in what we are 90% sure we’re shiso leaves and then pan cooked them in a mix of wine, water, sugar, tomatoes, green beans and carrots.

That evening we packed ready for our early start the next day to fly to a new country - Hong Kong! 

Love, Rachael x