Hiroshima Castle and Okonomiyaki Mitchan

[Introduction]

I traveled to Iwakuni, Miyajima and Hiroshima for 3 days and 2 nights in early December. In this article, I will write about Hiroshima Castle. I also had Okonomiyaki at Mitchan Sohonten, which was well known was the birthplace of Okonomiyaki.

[Visit Places (series of articles)]
* Iwakuni: Kintaikyo Bridge [Related article]
* Iwakuni: Iwakuni Castle [Related article]
* Miyajima: Itsukushima Shrine (daytime at high tide) [Related article]
* Miyajima: Itsukushima Shrine (daytime at low tide) [Related article]
* Miyajima: Itsukushima Shrine (evening and night) [Related article]
* Miyajima: Others [Related article]
* Hiroshima: Hiroshima Castle [This article]
* Hiroshima: Atomic Bomb Dome and Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park [Related article]

[Travel Date]
2015.12.03-05

[Main Part]

This is the 3rd day of my trip of three days and two nights, and I will move from Miyajima Island to downtown Hirishima.

Moving from Miyajima Island to downtown Hiroshima by Hiroshima World Heritage Sea Route

There are several ways to move between Miyajima Island and downtown Hiroshima (see the link), and I chose a high-speed boat called “Hiroshima World Heritage Sea Route”. This is because it directly goes to Peace Memorial Park, which was my main objective to visit downtown Hiroshima.

Here was the ship.

View from the ship. Although the weather forecast said it would be sunny all the day, it was a cloudy sky at this moment.

I also encountered seagulls on the way.

I arrived at the pier.

Hiroshima Castle

After I reached downtown Hiroshima, I visited Hiroshima Castle first.

Ninomaru (second compound) where there was an entrance.

I will cross a bridge and enter the premise.

There was a moat around the castle.

There was also a shrine (Hiroshima Gokoku Shrine) on the premise.

Now I arrived at the castle tower.

There were exhibits in the castle tower, but it was prohibited to take photos inside the castle except for designated areas. However, it was allowed to take photos on the top floor where I was able to have a panoramic view of Hiroshima, so I took some photos.

After I left the castle tower, here were some photos around the castle.

Okonomiyaki at Mitchan Sohonten

I left Hiroshima Castle and will have a lunch. I had Anago meshi and oyster in Miyajima as local cuisines, and determined to have Okonomiyaki as the most famous soul food in Hiroshima. I visited Mitchan Sohonten, which was one of the most famous Okonomiyaki Restaurant in Hiroshima.

I arrived at the restaurant.

Although I reached the restaurant 15 minutes before its opening, there was already a queue due to its popularity.

Inside the restaurant.

As I sat in front of the counter, I was able to see how Okonomiyaki was made.

Cabbage and wheat flour batter.

Noodle, which is usually used for Hiroshima-style Okonomiyaki.

You see staff members made Okonomiyaki as a team.

Okonomiyaki was about to be completed.

Okonomiyaki was dished out.

Finnaly, Okonomiyaki was brought to the table.

Mitchan Sohonten was said to be the restaurant that originated Okoomiyaki, and it was actually delicious.

[Closing]

That’s it for the article about Hiroshima World Heritage Sea Route, Hiroshima Castle and Okonomiyaki at Mitchan Sohonten. Regarding Hiroshima World Heritage Sea Route, the fare was a little bit expensive (one-way: 2,000 JPY , round trip: 3,600 JPY), but considering you can move directly from Miyajima Island to Peace Memorial Park, it was worth using it. As for Okonomiyaki, since I sat in front of the counter, I was able to enjoy seeing its live performance 🙂

In the next article, which is the final article of this series (Iwakuni, Miyajima and Hiroshima for 3 days and 2 nights), I will write about Atomic Bomb Dome and Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.
(To be continued)

［Related Link］
VISIT HIROSHIMA (English)
Hiroshima Navigator (English)
Hiroshima World Heritage Sea Route (English)