We found the perfect cruise itinerary on the Holland America’s Westerdam that would bring us to Hiroshima, Japan, a place that we both always wanted to visit. We wanted to maximize our limited time, and limited budget while we were in port, so we made a plan to visit 5 of Hiroshima’s highlights in our one short cruise port day, on our own.
Our Self Guided Tour Of Hiroshima
Whenever we are about to arrive at a new port, we take time to do a little bit of google investigations, so that we can figure out if we need to purchase an excursion, or if we are going to self explore and figure out our own itinerary and plan the transportation ourselves.
Although the Hiroshima cruise port terminal itself is in, what seems, the middle of nowhere (there are no nearby stores, parks, or places to venture out to), we opted that we would explore Hiroshima on our own and walk to the train station where we would find the Hiroshima highlights on our own.
It seemed a like a huge expense for each of us to take a $25, 15 minute shuttle ride from the Hiroshima cruise port terminal, only to bring us to the train station. That shuttle ride also does not include any further transportation that you would definitely need to GET to the highlights in Hiroshima. We thought we could put that extra $50 to better use AND get ourselves some additional walking exercise!
As we were on a port day with the Holland America Westerdam cruise ship, we only had a few hours to spend in Hiroshima, so for us, doing a self-guided tour, it was important for us to have a general plan of where we were going to go, how we were going to get there, and to have an idea of how much time we could spend in each place.
This brings us to OUR day trip to Hiroshima itinerary.
Our 5 Hiroshima Highlights
Peace Memorial Park
We also noted that Hiroshima is very clean and safe, and that there were opportunities in Hiroshima to eat as WFPB Vegans
Walk to the Park, The Shrine, The Residential Streets
We like walking, so we checked out Google maps. We figured that we would be taking about a 30 minute walk to the train station, but that did not account for us stopping in the park; making a wrong turn; and taking a few pictures along the way.
Just before we got to the park, we had noted that there was a bakery on the corner with a nice little sit down restaurant, cherry blossom trees, and a relaxed atmosphere. We stopped each way to and from the train station for a drink and a pit stop!
Our first stop was the park. We aimed to go there first, as it was a good half way point to the train station just to stop and gauge where we were. A lot of the non-touristy places on google are not labelled in English, so we wanted to make sure that we were on the right track.
In the park, we watched a few families taking a walk, flying kites, and simply having a great morning in the sun.
We proceeded on our walk to the Hiroshima train station and made a stop along the way to a small shrine, and then continued to walk through the residential streets.
We found that the homes were very beautiful. Japan is a very clean country, and Hiroshima is definitely no exception to that statement. Everything was orderly, spacious, and colorful. We had seen some pretty unique things on our walk, that we may have missed if we had taken the shuttle bus from the ship to the train station. For example, we saw some great signs, and a dinosaur!
Hiroshima Castle and Grounds
We took the train to the Hiroshima Castle and Grounds. It was a relatively short walk from the station, and we were in awe even outside of the Hiroshima castle grounds. There were a lot of trees and paths leading up to the entrance.
It was such a spectacular place to be. There is so much history at the Castle and the grounds.
A little About Hiroshima Castle:
Hiroshima Castle is a historical landmark that was originally built in the late 16th Century. It is a wonderful five story castle that is surrounded by a huge moat and stone walls.
Hiroshima castle was a victim of the devastation caused by the Hiroshima atomic bombing in 1945, and brought to ruins.
The Castle has been reconstructed utilizing the same traditional construction techniques and materials, and has been turned into a museum, which we visited. We were able to learn more about the rich culture and history by visiting the castle, which showcases exhibits artifacts and information on each floor.
On the top floor, we were able to have a view of Hiroshima, along with many other interested tourists!
In and and around Hiroshima Castle we had a few great experiences. We walked from the castle to the Atomic Bomb site, but saw a whole bunch of great culture in between.
We stopped and had a snack on the grounds. It was quite peaceful, even though there were hundreds of people around!
Peace Memorial Park
Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, Japan, is located in the epicentre of the atomic bomb blast of August 6, 1945. The site is dedicated to promoting peace and reminding us all about the horrors of nuclear warfare.
The park features the Atomic Bomb Dome, which is the skeletal remains of the former Industrial Promotion Hall that withstood the blast; The Peace Memorial Museum, which exhibits artifacts, personal testimonies, and historical accounts; and the Children's Peace Monument that stands as a symbol of hope, inspired by Sadako Sasaki and her paper crane-folding tradition.
We found the park to be very tranquil. There were literally thousands of people around us, yet, it was very quiet.
The Atomic Bomb Dome
It is true what they say. You can really FEEL the emotion and devastation of the Hiroshima atomic bombing when you visit the Atomic Bomb Dome. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, where people from around the world come to remember, to pay their respects, to be reminded about the consequences of nuclear warfare, and to think about how "we" can make the world a better and more peaceful place.
The Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Dome, also known as the Genbaku Dome, had been hit on August 6th, 1945. The skeletal remains of the former Industrial Promotion Hall is what we recognize as the symbol of what happened.
Please feel free to click through the slideshow of images that we took (Below). There is a small arrow that points to the right.
Children’s Peace Monument
The Children's Peace Monument is another significant memorial within The Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima. This monument reflects hope, resilience, and the enduring spirit of children affected by the atomic bombing.
Inspired by the story of Sadako Sasaki, a young girl who developed leukemia as a result of the bomb's radiation, the monument represents her wish for peace. Sadako believed that if she could fold one thousand origami paper cranes, her illness would be cured and peace would prevail.
Although Sadako's life was tragically cut short, her story and the tradition of folding cranes have become powerful symbols of peace and healing.
More About Our Day Trip In Hiroshima
Is it safe to visit Hiroshima?
We found Hiroshima, Japan, to be very safe. We walked from our cruise ship port to the train station, then took the train (totalling less than $12 Canadian of travel for the day), on our own to get to all of the locations.
Hiroshima is, in our opinion, a vibrant city with a rich cultural heritage and an obviously popular tourist destination.
There are plenty of signs and locator maps around the city. We never felt lost or overwhelmed with travelling in the city on our own.
Where would a WFPB Vegan eat in Hiroshima?
There are quite a few places that we had found on google. All we had done was type in "Vegan Food Near Me", and a lot of places would pop up.
The biggest thing that we found helpful, is that we downloaded "google translate" directly onto our phones, so that we were able to hover our phones over the menus, so that we could get an immediate translation into English!
There are plenty of "Coco Ichibanya" places around Japan. We walked by two on our journey in Hiroshima. They are a curry house chain where we have had vegan curries. You can get it custom made with spinach, mushroom, mixed veg or eggplant. The curries also come with rice and a side salad.
Within the Grounds of the Hiroshima Castle, we each had a "Sweet Red Bean Soup" which was definitely an interesting thing to try. It was 250 YEN and it kept us satisfied for the rest of the afternoon.
In Summary, we would definitely like to go back to Hiroshima to see many more of the must -see highlights. We felt that being on our own saved us a lot of money, and gave us a perspective of the city that many other tourists wouldn't have experienced.
Hopefully, we will be back in the near future, and perhaps the next time we will splurge on an excursion to see some many more of the sites that we couldn't get to in our only day in Hiroshima.
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