Hiroshima

Kyōto Station Yoshikawa, , JP

We've been making a habit of having early starts and this morning was no exception as we caught the Shinkansen from Kyoto towards Hiroshima.

Each of the train stations in Japan have kiosks which sell local delicacies, so we picked up a bento box filled with cured sushi, which is Kyoto's speciality as it's landlocked and harder to get fresh fish.

We caught a street car when we arrived in Hiroshima and then took a ferry across to Itsukushima Island.

Itsukushima Shrine Hatsukaichi, , JP

The island is home to one of Japan's most famous shrines and has a giant torii gate which looks like it's floating in the water which the boats would have to pass through.

Itsukushima Hatsukaichi, , JP

The beach was filled with dozens of friendly deer, and as I had some crackers leftover from Nara, I was their best friend.

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park Hiroshima, , JP

We caught the ferry back to Hiroshima and visited Peace Memorial Park. When an atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima in 1941, this dome was one of the only structures to survive and it's been left intact ever since.

Though the remains of the dome were eerie, the memorial was a really lovely place covered in flowers and tributes.

There was a memorial for a young girl who got radiation poising and believed that if she made 1000 paper cranes she might survive. Thousands of paper cranes surrounded the memorial and you're able to make one to add.

We took a look around the museum afterwards and for 50 yen (roughly 20p), you can learn why the bomb was dropped, see before and after photos and find out what happened in the aftermath.

Among the exhibits was a watch found in the rubble that had stopped at the exact time of the bombing and a set of stairs where the shadow of a person had been bleached in to the stone by the radiation.

Okonomi-mura Hiroshima, , JP

Afterwards we treated ourselves to okonomiyaki at Okonomi-mura, a three story food arcade filled with restaurants where you can watch it being cooked in front of you.

It was amazing to watch the dish come together with eggs, cabbage, sprouts and noodles. You can add any ingredients you like so we had ours with prawns and squid.

Once it's ready to eat, it's swept across the hot griddle to your seat and you can tuck in. It was amazingly delicious and has left me craving more.

On the way back to the station, we passed by a store called Neko Marche and couldn't resist popping in.

It was basically just a pet store but it had the most adorable puppies and kittens. I wish I could take this one home as a souvenir.

Hiroshima Station Hiroshima, , JP

It was then time to jump back on the Shinkansen and head to Fukuoaka. The only reason we decided to go to there was because we had some free time to kill and Tom had seen a photo of Canal City on Pinterest and thought it looked cool. We had sake and crisps covered in white chocolate on the train.

福岡タワー｜FUKUOKA TOWER Iwai, , JP

I was exhausted by the time we arrived at our hotel and I was so excited to find a normal looking bath in our room, so I decided to stay in, relax and watch Japanese TV while Tom headed out to explore.