Jimbo

Hey guys<BR><BR>I'm off to Tokyo in early November, and will be leaving Japan from Nagoya, using Kyoto as a base for the latter part of my stay. I do not have too much time, but would feel that I wasn't being true to myself if I didn't visit Hiroshima. Can any of you tell me what I'll find there besides the A-bomb dome and the Peace Monument? Would you say it was worth the 1.5 hour bullet train ride down there? Thanks for help in advance!

Florence

Bonjour Jimbo,<BR><BR>Apart from the A-bomb and peace monuments, Hiroshima hasn't got much worth the trip for only one day. You could make it an overnight trip by combining a visit to Miyajima, or a stop on the way to visit Himeji castle and/or Kurashiki.

Chris

I was very affected by the A-bomb dome and Peace Museum and think it's well worth the shinkansen ride. It is a sobering experience and I wouldn't miss the opportunity. We arrived in the afternoon and did Peace museum, etc, stayed overnight and did Miyajima in the morning before departing for Tokyo around 2pm the next day. Do plan to have okonomiyaki for dinner, Hiroshima is famous for this Japanese pancake dinner (sounds strange, but tastes delicious.)

Thomas

I've been to Japan twice and both times went to Hiroshima. It is a sobering experience and I recommend it to any visitor. The museum has been expanded and is more informative now. Once I visited the Hiroshima Castle. The original was destroyed (again) in the A-bomb blast and rebuilt of concrete, so it isn't as interesting as a castle as Himeji Castle. But it is now a museum of local history and is interesting in its own right. I also found Hiroshima interesting because it is so far south. I live in the northern US and so any place whose streets are lined with palm trees is always an exotic place to visit.

Bill

<BR>Using your JR pass, it would be a 2 hour trip on the Hikari shinkansen (e.g. dep Kyoto 7:42, arr Hiroshima 9:51). It's the Nozomi bullet that would be 1.5 hours (maybe one of the regional JR passes would cover the Nozomi).<BR><BR>You would also have plenty of time to also visit Himeji or Miyajima.<BR><BR>Here is an idea for Nov 9:<BR>dep Kyoto 7:42, arr Hakata 11:15<BR>SUMO!<BR>dep Hakata 18:58, arr Kyoto 21:47<BR><BR>or you could even:<BR>dep Hakata 17:58, arr Kyoto 20:47<BR>pick up your bags at the station<BR>dep Kyoto 21:33, arr Nagoya 22:43<BR><BR><BR><BR>

gaijinsky

It is definitely worth the visit. Make sure you tour the museum. It is sobering, but an important &quot;other side&quot; of a story. Our only complaint was that the displays never mention why the US did this horrible thing...If you didn't know better, you might think that the US did it for no reason. No mention anywhere of the war that was going on. Again, justified or not, we felt it was important to witness the consequences of atomic weapons.