Modern Japan

Hiroshima is a beautiful and modern (reconstructed after the bombing) Japanese city. It has fascinating outdoor malls, an eloquent and beautiful castle, and a thought-provoking tribute to peace. The people are wonderful and helpful, even if you are like me, a dumb American trying not to insult them at every turn.

Quick Tips:

Take a Japanese-English dictionary with you, and in the worst case, allow the people you are trying to communicate with just to read out of the book what you are trying to tell them. Everyone is very nice, and they all want to help you get to where you are going, so don't be afraid to ask.

The Japanese culture is a beautiful and spiritual one. If you have the opportunity to make it to this or another city in Japan, try to experience the culture as they do. Eat the food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Go to the temples and visit the gardens. If you get a chance, try to get out to the countryside. In the countryside, people still live like they did a 1,000 years ago in their paper walled houses and tending to their rice paddies. It is a very peaceful life that you should at least get a glimpse of.

Best Way To Get Around:

Walking is the best way to get around especially if you are staying right downtown. Everything of importance is walking distance from downtown. Other than that, taxis are the best way to get around the city. There are hundreds of them around. When you get in one, make sure they are registered (there will be a license on the dash). Most drivers understand enough English to get you to all the major locations in the city.

To get in between the cities, Japan has an excellent train system with the Shinkansen (bullet train) at the top of the list. Traveling at 200kph this train can get you anywhere in the country very quickly. There are two important things you need to know before traveling this way. (1) Smoking on the train is allowed and if you don't smoke you don't want to be anywhere near this car. (2) The train is ALWAYS on time. To the minute. If you are in Japan and the train you are waiting for is either late or early, then your watch is wrong.

This hotel, the tallest building in Hiroshima, is located only a few minutes drive from the Shinkansen station. There are hundreds of taxis available and you should have no problem picking one up and getting to the hotel.

The hotel is located in the center of the city, conveniently only walking distance from the outdoor mall, the major electronic store, and the Peace Memorial Park. It is big and modern. On one side of the hotel is the Hiroshima Castle and the other is a 12-story mall structure consisting of many stores and restaurants. It offers you everything from classic Japanese sushi to American burgers.

Inside the hotel is beautiful and elegant. It is clear that Japan is putting its best work forward. The rooms are large by Japanese standards and include benefits such as BBC news and heated toilet seats.

The attendants at the counter speak good English and will do anything to help you out. Japan can be a difficult country to move around in, but they make it easier by calling for taxis and getting you on the right train.

The hotel also offers a full breakfast in the morning. You have your choice between Western breakfast (eggs and bacon) and Japanese breakfast (tofu and seaweed). The tofu and seaweed is actually pretty good and when ever I travel I always make a point to try to live like the natives. It makes the cultural experience much more intense and personal.

The hotel itself is a little pricy ($130 a night), but its accommodations and location in downtime Hiroshima are worth it.

If you are in Hiroshima, you need to take the opportunity to stop by the Peace Memorial Park and the atomic bomb museum. While it is beautiful, it is a reminder of the costs of war.

In the center of the park are the Cenotaph, Pond of Peace, and the Flame of Peace. All are representations of Hiroshima's commitment to peace and the restoration of their city, as well as a reminder to the loss that war can cause.

Behind the Cenotaph is the Peace Memorial Museum. In the museum, you will find a timeline of the events that occurred on August 6, 1945. It includes stories of individuals who survived and those that did not from before the bomb blast until minutes, days, and weeks after. There are many artifacts from the explosion including watches that were stopped at the moment of detonation to children's bicycles that were twisted from the heat.

WARNING: This museum is build around the Japanese side of the atomic bomb story. As a result, they focus on the deaths of many of the school children and civilians that occurred here and fail to talk, at all, about the fact that there was a hug military presence in the city. Remember when they talk about the school that was destroyed that it was the Japanese Empire that built the military base right next door. There are also graphic displays of death including actual fingers and burned skin from A-bomb victims.

Outside the museum on the park grounds make sure you stop by the A-bomb dome. It was the Hiroshima Prefectural Commercial Exhibition Hall built in 1915. It was one of the only builds to still be partly standing after the blast. Its melted and bent steel frame is a testament to the destructive power of the bomb.

Another place you should stop by while in Hiroshima is the outdoor mall that is again walking distance from the Rihga Royal Hotel. If you go a few blocks straight out the back of the hotel, you can't miss it.

The mall consist of a long corridor with open-air ends and a high arching tent strung between the two buildings that make up either side of the mall. As you walk down the center of the mall, you will find unique stores lining either side of the complex. Make sure you stop by the 100 yen store (the dollar store) to find some cheap gifts for you family or maybe a sake set for yourself. The mall also has a couple of interesting toy stores where you can find classic Japan toys from anime, as well as a few token Godzilla’s. There will also be a multistory arcade that has the news games in it. Try out a few so new that when they come out in the US, you will be one up on your friends. You will also find antique shops, clothing stories, and even a grocery store (you will find some interesting foods here), all of which will satisfy your cultural curiosity and be a lot of fun.

Overall, the mall is the best place to shop in Hiroshima and gives you a nice feel for what life in big-city, modern Japan is like.

Deodeo is one of many electronic stores in Japan that, as a Westerner, I couldn't miss. The store is located right across the street from the Rihga Royal hotel. It is a tall building with many levels and lots of people.

Let's get to the important stuff: all the cool electronics. Each floor in this impressive store has a different type of electronics. On the lower levels were the larger household appliances, including washers and dryers and refrigerators, and as you went up the escalators, the devises got smaller and more complicated, starting with a flat-screen plasma television, then the DVD and DVR players. As you can imagine, there was a whole floor dedicated to games and game systems. As a gamer, this was my paradise, because I was seeing games that weren't going to be out in the US for another year. It was a pretty sweet sight. On the final floor were all the new cell phones. In Japan, cell phones are a big deal, and this floor proved it.

The store is a great opportunity to see all the new stuff coming out, as well as see how much the electronics industry impacts the Japanese culture.