48 Hours in Hiroshima ⛩️ 8 Things to do in Japan's Legendary City

it's been over 5 years since I was last

in hoshima a city that's often regarded

as a symbol kind of for the darker side

of humanity and also as a Beacon of Hope

for its impressive and incredible

rebirth I really do love it here and I'm

delighted to be back for 48 hours to

explore the city the stunning island of

Mima and Japan's Inland sea and of

course stuff myself with as many

okonomiyaki pancakes as I can get my

hands on Hiroshima here we

come coming up on our journey through

Hiroshima we explore of the most

visually striking temples that Japan has

to offer stay on the sacred picturesque

island of MIMA in a truly astonishing

hotel room and I find myself frantically

working behind the counter of the city's

busiest okonomiyaki pancake

restaurant but before we set off into

the Inland Sea of Japan there's one

place above all others that demands to

be visited while traveling through

Hiroshima the Hiroshima Peace Memorial

Museum is profoundly disturbing but

supposed to be it's essential viewing

they want people to come here and

appreciate the true destructive power of

nuclear weapons and regardless of how

you feel of their use in World War II

when you go in there and have a look

around see what it did to this city

you'll feel that the use of nuclear

weapons is truly Unthinkable and you

know rosim is not about pointing fingers

it's about serving as a warning you'll

come away hoping that they're never used

ever again and perhaps the most poignant

reminder of hiroshima's past is the gaku

Dome literally the atomic bomb Dome

built in 19 15 the building was once an

exhibition Hall and when the bomb went

off almost directly overhead the

structures vertical columns survived the

force of the blast leaving it one of the

only buildings intact in the aftermath

while it can seem daunting to be face to

face with the sheer destruction of

Humanity's most powerful weapon it's

important to realize that Hiroshima now

with its bustling and ever growing

landscape is not just a symbol of the

past but also a symbol for moving

forward into the future and perhaps the

best way to appreciate this is by

visiting the uru tower that overlooks

the Dome offering a breathtaking

panoramic view of the city past present

and future all presented at

once this really is the Blade Runner of

observation decks it is quite jarring

you're looking down on the gaku DOR from

up here from this like futuristic

skyscraper we truly are living in the

future you know I always see the gaku D

in like 1940s news reels and historic

archive footage and to now be towering

over it up here I feel like I'm living

in the future I feel very old indeed but

the bomb was actually intended to be

dropped over there on that t Junction

over the bridge um but it missed and it

went off over there about 600 m above

but what you notice when you arrive in

hoso is the infrastructure right the

roads are really wide the buildings are

really modern because they had to start

essentially from scratch there's not so

many historic buildings which makes the

g backu d all the more important to

remember what happened here you can see

hirosima castle in the distance as well

but yeah yeah it has a really futuristic

Skylight a lot of the buildings

including the new stadium over there

it's an incredible City it needs to be

seen to be believed and when you think

about what happened here and where the

city is now it is nothing short of

inspiring to see how far things have

come and how the people of hoshima

started over and uh did a fantastic job

rebuilding the city and prospering the

connection between hiroshima's past and

future was a concept that the owner of

orizuru tower matad desan felt important

to preserve especially given his

family's history within Hiroshima as his

grandfather the son of the original

president of the Mazda car company lost

his life in the bombing alongside all of

his staff it's a big responsibility

renovating a tower overlooking such an

important kind of historical landmark

you know how did you feel renovating

this place back in 2016 79 years ago

there were nothing at all there were

nothing at all absolutely yeah right now

it's beautiful this view should be shown

to whole world it's a not place um to

look back on the past M feel the future

peace it's piece of hirim

I but alas It's Time to Say Goodbye to

at the Sam for now he's a busy and

serious entrepreneur after all and he

departs in a manner befitting of a man

of his powerful status thank you so much

M thank you too have a good time thank

you very much goodbye goodbye goodbye go

he has to go

now down the slide hirosima one of

hiroshima's richest men disappearing off

down the slide nothing irregular about

that on a scale of one to Amazing Escape

from an inter

that's the sound

winds can't be beat and there he goes

hiroshima's fastest ascending

entrepreneur I on the other hand decide

to see what else odudu tower has to

offer admittedly taking the lift myself

odudu itself means folded origami crane

a symbol of peace synonymous with

Hiroshima after Sadako Sasaki the victim

of the bombing completed folding a th000

paper cranes as a symbolic wish for

peace and Recovery a symbol that is

quite literally ingrained into the

structure of the tower itself as

visitors are encouraged to make their

own origami cranes and then drop them

into an open wall that spans the

entirety of the tower slowly being

filled with cranes by visitors from all

across the world that's insan so there's

950,000 cranes down below for people

that have actually dropped them over the

last like 5 6 7 years and when it gets

to about 1.2 million it should be full

and then they're going to start all over

again they're going to take them out and

start all over again so the idea of

everyone if everybody works together we

can sort of fill it time for my

contribution all right

byebye whoa whoo whoo

wow that's so

cool and with all my hopes for well

peace gracefully floating down the side

of the building I decide to head

downstairs to see some of hiroshima's

Local Foods and souvenirs and it's here

that I catch a glimpse of perhaps

Japan's most enthusiastic oyster

salesman you re oer m I do that was

really good very good oyers are so

naturally flavorful kind of like salty

flavor passion when you come to hirosima

everyone goes on about the oysters an

awful lot and you can see why when you

try it for yourselves like see where

that passion comes from but odudu isn't

simply home to a tower of origami or an

entrepreneur who commutes exclusively by

slide downstairs you'll find hiroshima's

most beloved local chain of okonomiyaki

pancake restaurants me Jam serving up my

favorite style of savory pancakes

characterized by their crispy sober

noodle

filling a more complicated cooking

procedure requires only the most apt and

trained hands to get the perfect ratio

of all the ingredients cooked just right

which is exactly why Matan thought it

would be hilarious to pull some strings

and get me behind the counter to attempt

to make one for myself say hello to

mean's brand new star employee I have to

say it actually fits rather well I like

it haven't worked behind a restaurant

counter in about 15 years so let's hope

I don't trash it and burn the place down

given it only opened yesterday

afternoon this really is a baptism of

fire the busiest okom pancake restaurant

in like

Japan the world's worst chef with

Japan's most complicated dish what could

possibly go

wrong so difficult so complex and thus

Begins the first and final time Chef is

allows a stranger to cook in mean's

kitchen the thin batter has to be cooked

just right before adding a combination

of cabbage crispy squid tempura and

thinly sliced pork but probably the most

important step of all is flipping the

pancake making sure all the ingredients

don't go flying over the oh crap oh boy

oh but fortunately the only one who'll

be eating this disaster is myself and to

ensure I don't top it all off with some

food poisoning Chef isair is on hand to

help me through the final step stages of

making this nightmare

[Music]

edible good teacher

[Music]

e good the rich Tangy Wisher sauce the

mayonnaise fish flakes noodles such a

great combination of flavors right but

for me it's the crispiness of the

noodles that win the day the good thing

about Hiroshima okonomiyaki is it can be

messy though right it's not about

perfection it's about putting all these

ingredients together and having a big

flavorful Savory pancake that will stuff

you up for the next few hours I can't

believe I cook this can't believe I

actually did it orbe it being told what

to do every step of the way I mean I

cook for myself I don't know if I have

the confidence to cook for anyone else

can you imagine that the excitement of

coming here and then I turn up I'm like

I'm going to make your rock and DOI

pancake and they're like okay I think

it's time to go now but either way that

was an exceptional okaki pancake and uh

yeah really cool restaurant good vibe

good

[Music]

vibe nestled away in the center of the

city is hoshima Castle originally built

in the late 16th century and the seat of

power for all of Hiroshima and the nine

domains the chugoku region and while the

castle itself was Faithfully rebuilt

after being destroyed by the atomic bomb

wander through the grounds and you'll be

amazed to discover C just how much of

the surrounding nature survived the

destruction in 1945 so this is

incredible this eucalyptus tree despite

being just 740 M from the hyper center

of the blast actually survived the

bombing on that day August 6th 1945 the

castle and the surrounding area was

completely destroyed but this tree along

with a few others around the park

managed to survive and uh despite being

in the Heart of the City it's a great

place to come for a moment of peace and

uh admire the trees that survived just

the absolute worth kind of Destruction

while Hiroshima Castle might not be able

to compete with the sheer spectacle of

Himi or the Mountaintop views of matama

Castle the grounds surrounding the

building are genuinely stunning with a

Labyrinth of Pathways stone walls and

ponds that offer a relaxing escape from

the urban sprawl it's a beautiful place

to get lost in the Heart of the

City it's time to leave downtown

Hiroshima behind and head out into the

Inland sea as we hop on a 40-minute

ferry ride to the island of Mima home to

the Giant floating Tory gate of its

kushima Shrine a sacred island in the

eyes of Shintoism mima's legendary

nature and forests have been left mostly

untouched and the site of its kushima is

regarded as one of the three most

beautiful sites in all of Japan A

fitting backdrop for one of the three

most hungry animals in all of Japan the

many hundreds of deer that call Mima ho

although many people usually associate

Mima as a quick day trip getaway and

head back before the last fery leaves

the docks it's becoming something of a

popular overnight destination in its own

right and I've been invited to stay at

Mat of the sand spectacular newly opened

Ida Hotel overlooking it kushima a hotel

that meticulously incorporates Japanese

design Aesthetics into each and every

room my God now this is how you do a

hotel room they've gone for a chashitsu

tum Vibe right so you sort of walk in

and youve walk into a room within a room

you've really got to pay attention to

the little details though they've got

this T Tree Flooring down there it's

been painstakingly carved we've got this

woven bamboo ceiling that I suspect most

guests I even realize is here and It All

Leads up to the window overlooking the

bustling Street which is somehow yet

still relaxing cuz you've got the kada

roof tiles and the Misty Mountains of

MIMA in the distance you could sit here

all day with your tea and take it all in

as spacious as it is somehow this is

actually the smallest room you can book

at Ida with the upper floors taking

luxury to the next level okay wow my God

this is nothing short of spectacular how

can you have a room with a view like

that we have it all to ourselves in this

sweeping Room Ocean View this is insane

this is ridiculous Venice inspired kind

of ceiling apparently the materials they

use for the ceiling are actually

imported from Venice they've got this

Danish sofa we got tiles over here from

shiman prefecture neighboring nearby

wallpaper from Belgium like it's a

really good Fusion of Japanese and sort

of European aesthetic and it combines to

create just the most amazing room but it

is the view that defines it and I'm not

going to stop saying that because wow

wow I can't believe you can have a view

like this all to

yourself so I've actually stayed on Mima

once before 10 years ago and uh my

friend and I we went camping on the far

side of the island it was fun but we

woke up the next morning opened the tent

and all our luggage had been destroyed

it was everywhere all over the field and

we were like who could have done this

why would this have happened and we

turned the corner around the tent and

there's just a big deer munching on the

bags be careful if you come to me a gima

and go camp but what a

waking up in a tent on Mima not knowing

if my baggage is going to be intact to

being in the most luxurious room there

is on the entire Island it's quite the

contrast each has their own merits I

suppose there's an ancient saying about

MIMA in order to understand its beauty

you need to have a full stomach okay I

made that bit up but I would be asham

not to visit some of the various food

stores that line the small streets along

the coastline so when you Mima you need

to get some street food and hiroshima's

most famous dish after okonomiyaki is

actually oysters and uh well I couldn't

resist getting the old Graton oyster of

course if there's cheese on it it's

going in my mouth can't believe I said

that out loud anyway

tanas gratt makes everything better

doesn't it the oyster was so fresh the

cheese beautifully creamy and if you're

not into oysters they've got beef Coro

kind of potato and chopped up beef

battered with some good old wora sauce

on

there what a mess beef cor it's the

perfect form factor for street food nice

and convenient deliciously warm and

filling especially on a rainy day like

this it's warned me

up Prett interesting drinks here harrybo

gummy lemon rum cider Haro gummy Lum

cider hi look at that gummy bears in the

rum it's quite a weird smell it just

smells of harrybo gummy bears and lots

and lots of rum like a ton of

rum oh wow that shouldn't work but it

does I don't know how you're supposed to

eat the gummy bears though that presents

a bit of predicament the new tradition

in Hiroshima this is going to become

like the thing isn't it gummy bear

[Music]

rum oh the gummy bears are frozen

exercise caution my God my

teeth after enjoying the local

traditional drinks of Rummy gummy

whatever the heck that was I set off in

search of more delicious treats but not

before engaging with some of the local

Islanders hello hey dude you tried the

oysters they're really

good probably a Riot's Japan fan anyway

time for something deep fried but also

sweet the people of Mima love Canada and

so they've got temper Momiji uh battered

Maple Leaf which if it's battered of

course I was going to get it the Q is

astonishing to this place this rustic

beautiful building overlooking the

stream What a fine backdrop for this

nourishing tree

cheers w wow it's just pure battered

sugar and I'm saying that like it's a

bad thing my God I'm going to be leaving

this island 3 Kg

heavier but it's not all beautiful

scenery historical and poignant spots

and delicious food Mima is also home to

the largest rice paddle on the planet no

I'm not making this up this needs to be

seen to be truly appreciated so this is

Godzilla's rice paddle the largest rice

paddle on Earth 7.7 M long 2.5 tons in

weight and it took the people of Mima

almost three whole years to build this

bad boy what I didn't know is that Mima

is home to the rice paddle they Meed it

here about 200 300 years ago and they

carve this out of a zel covry honestly I

have no idea how they physically

constructed in but it is incredible and

in a weird way I kind of want to pick it

up and eat a bowl of rice split although

I suspect it would take a small army to

physically lift this thing incredible

I'm glad they did it I'm glad they made

it only well spent but if the world's

largest wooden rice spoon isn't enough

to move you to your very core then

perhaps you'd prefer to take a quick

walk upstairs to the viewing deck a

secluded spot that's as yet mostly

unknown offering one of the best views

of the island got this view all to

myself of the Hoku Temple Shrine the

beach front the mountains when you get

to take a few minutes to step back and

appreciate it it really is like a

postcard don't miss it come up here and

uh yeah whole place to

[Music]

yourself just a small walk from Japan's

most impressive rice serving tool is the

dauin temple considered one of the most

important temples in the country as it

was where famous monk Kashi first

brought esoteric Buddhism to Japan

covered in ornate buildings statues and

Buddhist art with a smell of incense

sticks blowing on the Wind dauan Temple

really is a sight to behold even before

your journey up its over 2,000 steps to

the very top you're greeted with the

almost gibles scene of a sea of jizel

statues meant to protect Travelers 500

cheeky little jizel statues with their

cute Red Hats and their lifelike

Expressions I love it love a good Jor

statue maybe they can help lift that

rice paddle later on come on

guys we uh we sure we want to go to this

Temple let's go with

it this Temple's worth it those

lost I'm almost ashamed to admit this is

my first time at da in Temple at least

this part of it it is really quite

breathtaking it's been here for over

1,200 years and it's said to have like

this eternal flame burning a flame

they've kept going at the summit of the

mountain which un fortunately we're not

going to visit today already done enough

climbing

but honestly I'm not going to lie it's

quite an ostentatious Temple there's

lots of kind of little Buddhas and gizor

statues and shrines and there so many

things dotted around it it's almost a

bit overwhelming but it is magical with

the Mist coming through the forest and

the rain from the trees check it out da

and Temple what a beautiful

place and as you walk around the grounds

of the main Temple you'll also find the

heno kutsu cave home to thousands of

lanterns hanging from the ceiling and 88

Buddha statues meant to represent the 88

temples of the shikaku pilgrimage it's

said that you can even get the blessings

of all the temples here essentially a

sort of pilgrimage speedrun but of

course no trip to MIMA is complete

without visiting it kushima Shrine

itself it's kushima Shrine one of the

three Scenic SES in all of Japan I will

admit it does look better at high tide

than the season but they've just

finished renovating it took 3 years

years originally when they started in

2019 it was only going to take one year

and then Co hit and they were like maybe

we could take a little bit longer maybe

nobody will mind and uh it speaks for

itself striking red Shrine there's a

deer walking straight here rning gosh

unbelievable

unbelievable but let's go and take a

look up close and see what these

Renovations actually look

like I don't think I've ever touched it

before who feel that nice red paint

finish so I mean this shrine's been here

since 1875 or in some way shape or form

for over a thousand years so they had to

renovate it had damage from termites

seawater and even tourists who were like

sticking coins into it treating it like

a big piggy bank it is absolutely

incredible I used to think Mima equals

it kushima but that's simply not the

case today I've seen like there's so

much more to this island going off in

the mountains checking out the shrines

eating lots of street food but uh yeah

it never stops being incredible

definitely worth visiting definitely

worth seeing it's kushima for yourself

and now it's dinner

[Music]

time across my many visits to MIMA I've

pretty much seen its Kashima Shrine from

every single angle but today I'm blessed

to see it from not only a brand new

angle but perhaps the greatest angle of

all all right we might have found the

best view of its kushima there is

unfortunately it's very well concealed

hidden on the rooftop of the Hotel this

is ridiculous like you know I was

walking down there earlier completely

oblivious to this like hidden bath on

the roof my God honestly this can't be

beat this is it I wish I could stay in

here all evening it's absurd to be able

to sit here in the hot spring looking

over the Misty Mountains and seeing it

kushima like that it doesn't feel fair I

don't deserve this hands down the best

view of its Kashima

Shrine and some dramatic music to match

I guess that's the 5:00 p.m. music in

Japan they play music when it's 500

p.m. I that or they just want to kick me

out it's time to round off our day by

enjoying a rich kaiseki dinner course at

the hotel being greeted by some of the

finest and freshest ingredients from

around Hiroshima Seafood caught from the

bay and succulent Hiroshima beef

beautiful roast beef now earlier today

we saw the largest rice paddle on the

planet and now I give you the tiniest

micro tomato in the world I mean I love

tomatoes but that's a bit that's quite

small I don't what's the purpose of this

lovely roast beef though micro Tomatoes

aside which are

good it's great though usually when I

come to me a Jima I'm running for the

last Ferry right like running down the

Waterfront like wait stop no today we're

staying on the island it's a bit less

stressful as a result and I can actually

enjoy myself it's a shame I think that

many people just sort of turn up myself

included

speed run to it kushima Shrine take a

photo and then head off again I would

love to come back and spend like a whole

week here especially if there's roast

beef and micro help me in

[Music]

[Music]

you know I thought I'd seen and done

everything in m g I thought I'd

completed it but you know I hadn't seen

the biggest rice spon in the entire

world or the micro tomato you know or

the Shrine of the temple I uh I'm really

glad I came back and saw the island from

another perspective and honestly I think

I could I probably stay here a whole

week being in this bathtub certainly

helps a good bath a good stuff

well guys thanks for joining us on our

epic journey across Hiroshima but what

do we miss let us know in the comments

below and to find out where we visited

and where we stayed on our journey you

can find all the links in the

description box along with this video

including the hotel we stayed in in

downtown Hiroshima and the impressive

cocktail bar on the rooftop deck of the

orizuru tower there's no better place to

see the city at night though may be

avoid mat the Sand's favorite slide

after a few drinks and hopefully it

won't be another 5 years before I'm back

to stuff myself with Hiroshima style

okonomiyaki pancakes