As Asia becomes increasingly popular as a destination for security-minded Americans, Japan has to loom large in anyone's planning. Perhaps the safest place in the world to live and travel, this country continues to enjoy superb public transportation and peace of mind for both residents and visitors. And while Tokyo and Kyoto are pretty much on the well-trodden tourist path, the more peaceful and relaxing cities of Hiroshima and Nagano are not yet fully appreciated for their history, culture and beauty.
Visitors alarmed by the prospects of nuclear attack are always surprised when first arriving in Hiroshima to see how attractive the city is. Except for one building intentionally left in ruins at the atomic bomb's epicenter as a reminder of the horror visited on this city, the town has been completely rebuilt, and, in fact, is far larger (1.5 million people) and better looking than it was before the 1945 attack that brought its name into the world's consciousness.
You will want to come here primarily to assess the city's part in world history, including visiting the memorial and museum dedicated to the memory of those who perished in the planet's first atomic bombing. But, equally important, you come here to visit the city's gorgeous gardens, its rebuilt castle and to embark on a ship to the city's own mystic and sacred island, Miyajima.
The City
You may as well visit the Peace Memorial Park and Museum right off the bat. If you don't, you'll be worrying about it while you are having a good time elsewhere. At the center of everything in the park is the Cenotaph, the memorial for those killed in the attack or who died as a result of it (total est. 140,000). Underneath, designed to copy the roof of an ancient Japanese house but to western eyes somewhat resembling the top of a covered wagon, is a stone coffin containing a register of those who died in Hiroshima. The Cenotaph's inscription reads, "Let all the souls here rest in peace, for we shall not repeat the evil."
Just south of the Cenotaph is the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, which contains exhibits featuring the city's history, the bombing, artifacts from the attack's aftermath and the personal histories of many survivors. A free English-language film on Hiroshima & Nagasaki is available for viewing. Open daily except Dec. 29 to Jan. 2. Admission is ¥50 (about 45¢). Across the river from both the Cenotaph and museum is the A-Bomb Dome, the ruins of a 19th-century exhibition hall, kept as a constant reminder of the dropping of the A-Bomb just overhead.
The city's most beautiful garden is Shukkei-en, close to the city center, dotted with bridges, stepping-stones and ponds. Open daily except New Year's week. Admission is ¥250 (about $2.10). The impressive castle, restored in 1958 after being completely destroyed in 1945, is worth a visit, for the exhibits inside as well as for the view from the top. Open daily except New Year's week, admission ¥300 (about $2.60).
Two attractions worth visiting are the Contemporary Art (itself a gorgeous building) and the Science and Cultural Youth museums, entrance fee ¥300 and ¥410 (about $2.60 and $3.50), respectively, both closed New Year's week. Try to visit the O Bon Festival, which coincides with the Peace Festival in early August, when thousands of illuminated lanterns are set afloat on the Ota River to hauntingly commemorate the dead. There are also two impressive flower festivals; the spring festival in May features iris, the other, in October, highlights chrysanthemum.
Miyajima
If you can't get here now, try to see The Gates of Hell, a 1950 Japanese movie that surprised the world with its beauty and subtlety. It was filmed on Miyajima, a sacred island just a 60-minute trolley ride from Hiroshima's center and costing just ¥270 (about $2.35). Once on the island, where nobody is supposed to be born or die (they do that on the mainland only), you have to see the following absolutely gorgeous sites:
The Great Torii Gate, standing out in the water in front of the main shrine; it and the Itsukushima Shrine (first built in the 6th century but present structure dating to 1168), designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996; and the five-storied pagoda of the Hokoku Shrine (1407), especially beautiful when nearby cherry trees blossom.
If you can afford it (about $300), get a group together to commission a bugaku dance, the traditional and ancient court dance, performed in the open air on a stage with the Great Gate as backdrop. Better yet, if someone else has paid for the dance, just watch from the sidelines. The tradition dates back to the 8th century, and before that, to ancient China. On December 31, there's a great fire festival here (Chinkasai) and in mid June, the Kangensai, the largest of the festivals on the island. Colorfully decorated boats with curtains and lanterns sail by night with orchestras aboard, cruising along the coast while Gagaku (ancient court music) is played. In mid summer, there's the Tamatorisai, where hundreds of young men jostle and fight for possession of a precious wooden "ball of good luck" suspended from a frame over the water in front of the shrine. From April 16, you can see Noh plays at the shrine, and fireworks on August 14.
There are inns on the island where you can stay, and they give you yukata (cotton robes) to wear while walking about town in the evening, or to the shrine to see the hundreds of lanterns lit with candles. If you like tame little deer, there are plenty of Bambi wanna-be's to pet, too.
For more information on Hiroshima, Miyajima and all of Japan, visit the Japan National Tourist Organization's Web site, www.japantravelinfo.com, or their home site in Tokyo, www.jnto.go.jp.eng.