How to Spend 2 Days in HIROSHIMA - Japan Travel Itinerary

Well good morning and welcome to Hiroshima. I came down here last night on Japan's tiniest single rider shinkansen to show you how to get the most out of your trip. Of course when visiting Hiroshima there are two must-see destinations. The first of which it's a Kashima Shrine on Miyajima Island and the Atomic Dome Memorial at Hiroshima Peace Park. So let's get into it. Staying in Hiroshima is much more convenient and straightforward compared to some other Japanese With a small urban area that's quick and simple to navigate either on foot or via the cute little streetcars that set this city apart and give it a bit of a retro vibe. For where you should stay while in Hiroshima I have two recommendations with one caveat. The majority of travelers will be best served in the city center with its central location and access to both trams, JR lines and the city nightlife. But I strongly recommend that you spend at least one night on Miyajima Island. There are dozens of traditional ryokans for you to pick from for an authentic Japanese experience. But the real advantage here is that it will allow you to explore Miyajima in the morning before it becomes too crowded. The difference between going to its a Kashima Shrine at 8am versus 10am onwards is truly night and day and for anyone that doesn't want to end up stuck in the crowds then this is the choice for you. With that one caveat I mentioned earlier staying directly on Miyajima itself can be quite expensive. Fortunately a good alternative is to stay around Miyajima Gucci which is right by the ferry terminal which will allow you to arrive on the island as early as 6.30am. When I stayed there I only paid 3000 yen a night or just over $20. Now it is possible to see both the Peace Park and Miyajima on the same day but that's really going to limit your enjoyment of Hiroshima and you're going to miss out on a lot of what this city has to offer. One such thing you might miss out on if you only spend a single day in Hiroshima is your preferred tide. Itsukushima Shrine is most famous for its giant vermilion floating torii gate one of the three great views of Japan or Nihon Sankei. But it only appears to be floating half the day during the high tide. Low tide offering the opportunity to get up close and walk around its arches which on closer inspection you'll notice are actually giant tree trunks complete with their roots buried into the sand. Honestly it's hard for me to decide just which I prefer while high tide does make for the better photo op being able to walk on the sand and view the shrine from a unique angle makes for a better in-person experience which is why you should experience both but that can only be done by spending the whole day on Miyajima. Fortunately most accommodation in Hiroshima will list the current tide table so you can be sure when you need to arrive for your preferred view. Besides the temple and torii gates Miyajima offers a beautiful island hike and ropeway with stunning views of the surroundings. Not only that but you might be surprised by just how many friendly deer you'll find walking along throughout the forests streets and beaches of the island. After being surrounded by all these Japanese cedars I am reminded of another key point of Miyajima. It's food. No not the deer. Seafood and especially oysters. You'll be in no short supply of street vendors restaurants and cafes but today I'll be having lunch at the Miyajima Shokudo Bekkan where I order some raw and miso grilled oysters at an affordable price and a delectable conger eel Teishoku at a slightly higher price served with hot miso soup pickles and raw egg yolk that adds a creamy flavor to the eel and rice dish. Highly recommended. Stretching my legs and hopefully working off a bit of that lunch I noticed that spring has almost arrived and to get the most out of your spring travels to Japan then you should take advantage of this limited time special discount on tours and activities offered by today's video sponsor Klook. Klook's Sakura campaign has over 180 cherry blossom tours and activities throughout not only Japan but also Korea and Taiwan. Click the link in the description and use my code Inaka15 for a 15% discount. Two that I can personally recommend are the Nara and Yoshino tour which takes you to a mountain with over 30,000 sakura trees that bloom at different stages extending the season longer than anywhere else in Japan and also the Kyoto Philosopher's Path and Arashiyama day tour where you'll walk through a grove of sakura along a canal through Kyoto's most beautiful streets. Klook's app can be used to book discounted trips in your native currency and not only that but also train passes, car rental and even hotels but don't just take my word for it. One of my viewers recently commented that they were able to get limited tickets from Klook to the Studio Ghibli museum which I'm honestly kind of envious of because when I tried to buy them locally I couldn't get one. Klook's spring campaign also includes an up-to-date sakura forecast so you'll know when and where to see the best cherry blossoms but you'll need to hurry as the 15% discount on tours and activities will only last until March 10th. Now back to Hiroshima after jumping on the ferry to the mainland and taking a 35-minute train following the coast we arrive in Kure the birthplace of the largest battleship in the world. This is the Yamato. It's only a model. While Yamato was torpedoed by the allies in 1945 you can see this 110 scale at the Kure museum. No no not that one. This one. Look at all those guns. I've been wanting to see this for a very long time. This thing is absolutely incredible. At the time of its construction the Yamato was and I think still is the largest and most heavily armed battleship of all time along with its sister ship the Musashi. This beast was displacing over 17,000 tons. At a length of 863 feet the Yamato was almost the length of the Titanic outweighing the largest allied ships by more than 20 percent and armed with nine 18-inch type 94 guns the largest ever to be fitted on a warship even to this day. Yamato cannon online. The shells themselves weighed 3,200 pounds and could be fired at targets 27 miles away. The ship even inspired its own anime where it takes the stars to fight aliens. The museum also features decommissioned kamikaze kaiten human torpedoes, zero fighter jet planes. Wait what do they mean by future prospects? Numerous expertly crafted naval models and the fua fua basket challenge. After such a long day you're bound to be looking for a good hearty meal and it's time to talk. No it's still not deer. Okonomiyaki. Popular across Japan Hiroshima is famous for their variant served with noodles which is my favorite way to eat it. Okonomiyaki restaurants can be found on every corner in Hiroshima but for the best experience I recommend Okonomimura. With three floors and 25 different street style restaurants to choose from there is something for everyone an establishment with over 50 years of history that specializes in okonomiyaki like mom used to make with a lighter taste so that you can eat even more of it which not only sounded delicious but they also happened to be playing dragon ball z's best saga with their second best girl and just as quillen was beginning to simp over android 18 enough to ensure the creation of perfect cell and doom humanity they're all counting on me i can't let them he crushed the remote he actually risked every life on the planet just so he could get laid my delicious noodle pancake was ready with a side order of scallops for good measure in the center of the city along the river is the Hiroshima peace memorial park and ruins of the atomic dome once the center of commerce for the city that changed forever on the morning of august 6 1945 when the atomic bomb was dropped on a city killing 70 000 people instantly and another 70 000 due to radiation by the end of that year over 70 of the city was left in ruins but by the hypocenter of the blast one structure still stood an industrial promotional hall which has been renamed to the genbaku or atomic bomb dome permanently kept in a state of preserved ruin to stand as a reminder of the terrible destructive effects of war and use of nuclear weapons it might seem strange at first to visit such a location but i truly feel it's important for every visitor to Hiroshima to walk through the peace memorial park and memorial museum reading the testimonials of the victims and hearing their message of no more it is not uncommon to be deeply affected and overwhelmed by emotions on this visit but trust me in that it is an important experience if you need to be alone with your thoughts or to clear your head after the visit then from the peace park the reconstructed Hiroshima castle is a nice 20 minute walk away and for those that can only spend a single day in the city a ferry can be taken directly from the peace park to miyajima island which is the most time effective way to see both the memorial and itsukushima shrine as many travelers will be visiting as part of a larger japan trip you'll want to know where to go next from Hiroshima and there are two great options taking the train to onomichi will bring you to the start of the shimanami kaido a 70 kilometer road through the island sea bikes can be rented for just 1000 yen a day and you can ride over six islands and bridges through some of japan's most beautiful landscape even taking a detour to okunoshima along the way known as bunny island due to the thousands of ramets that enjoy a relaxed life on their tiny isle the one-way trip can be completed in a single day if you start early enough but you can also stay on the islands or return your bike to any of the return points along the road and take a ferry back to the mainland but for the best view in the inland sea then you will need to reach the kurushima kaikyo one of the longest suspension bridges in the world by sunset for a truly unforgettable view for the more relaxed traveler that doesn't want to build up a sweat rabbit island can also be visited from the mainland via a ferry alternatively you can take a different route by going directly from hiroshima to matsuyama and then continue your journey through the mysterious island of shikoku known for its naruto whirlpools vine cable bridges and spooky village with more dolls than people i just love to visit hiroshima it's such an amazing and diverse location and anytime i go to the inland sea it's just beautiful and for another beautiful seaside destination then you need to check out toba where you can meet japan's legendary female divers the ama take part in authentic shugendo ritual and taste some of japan's freshest seafood and uh you made it to the end of the video i'll uh level with you there's no such thing as japan's tiniest thing about a shinkansen i made it up i know i got in a little bit of trouble for the last tiny train but uh you know i couldn't help myself