Day Ten

Hiroshima Peace Memorial and Miyajima island

The morning began with a short walk from our hotel to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial.

This building below is called the Genbaku Dōmu, or Atomic Bomb Dome. One of the only structures to have survived the atomic blast, the ruins have been preserved to serve as a memorial to the people killed in the August 6, 1945 Hiroshima bombing.

We took a train to Miyajimaguchi station then a quick 15 minute ferry to our main destination for the day — Miyajima island.

Miyajima 宮島

I have had my eyes on Miyajima for a while after having seen pictures of the popular Itsukushima Shrine, a "floating" torii gate in the water.

We arrived during high tide and were able to experience low tide in the evening, where you are able to walk right up to it.

We visited a few temples and shrines, took a small hike up a nature path and fended off deer trying to eat my tasty steam buns from a street vendor.

We made our way back to the shore to find low tide in full effect.

Back in Hiroshima we walked around downtown, eventually ending up at a small Italian restaurant called Dolce Cucina. It was one of the few places without an English menu so we just went with their suggestion: a rich and tasty spaghetti carbonara.