Visiting Hiroshima with kids.
We arrived in Hiroshima after leaving Kyoto using our JR rail pass on the Hikari Shinksen train. This took just under 2 hours. After leaving our luggage at the hotel our first, and most looked forward to, destination was Miyajima Island.
Miyajima island is an island about off the coast of Hiroshima. Home to the world famous floating Torii gate and Itsukushima shrine. The gate is one of the three most impressive sights in Japan. This was undoubtably my favourite part of our Japan trip!
The best way, we found, to reach it from Hiroshima is to to get the ferry across to Miyajima Island.
The ferry we took is free with your JR pass and it’s just a 10 min trip across the water from Miyajimaguchi station. The ferry ride itself was very special. As we left at sunset we got some spectacular views across the water, as we approached the famous Floating Torii gate.
This is one of the most popular sites in Japan for tourists and it’s easy to see why! It is also a fantastic family day out if you are visiting Hiroshima with kids and is easily one of the most spectacular sights that we saw on our whole trip to Japan.
Just a note, depending on the time you visit, the Torii gate may or may not be ‘floating’. If the tide is out then you are able to walk up to it which is also a really nice experience but if you want the perfect image of it floating then be sure to check the tide times before visiting.
What we didn’t realise until we got there, Is that there are also deer on Miyajima island. Unlike Nara, these seemed much more relaxed and less demanding for food as you are not allowed to feed these ones.
The only downside was the food options were not that plentiful and we struggled slightly to find somewhere to eat. If you stay on Miyajima Island there are hotels where you can dine that are for residents only.
The following day was spent at probably the most sombre place we’ve ever visited. Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.
The park includes these famous sights. The A Dome, Children’s Peace Monument, Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, Memorial Cenotaph, and the Peace Flame.
These make up the location in Hiroshima where the atomic bomb was dropped in August 1945. This was a location that we really wanted to visit but we’re unsure with having Teddy with us how we would manage with it being such a significant and historical place.
All in all it went very smoothly and I am so glad we took him and will always be grateful for being able to experience the Peace Memorial Park.
We put him in his pram when we went in to the Peace Memorial Museum itself as a toddler running round would not have been appropriate. He was very well behaved and we just made sure we walked through quite quickly whilst still taking in all the information available.
Some of the artifacts that have been preserved are genuinely heartbreaking and I think even more so as we travelled with Teddy, so to see the impact the bomb had on whole families including children and babies was utterly devastating.
The museum itself was absolute worth and and left you with a feeling I can’t quite describe when you read about the devastating horrors that happened here but its so important that you go and visit.
Another option is to take it turns if visiting with children as there is a large area outside with seating areas and a lovely fountain with space for children to wander around freely. There is beautiful flame burning at the center of the memorial the ‘Peace Flame’ which will burn until there are no longer nuclear weapons used in the world. https://klook.tp.st/iborr0rJ
The A bomb dome building was the building located closest to the hypercentre of the bomb itself and was one of the most spectacular yet eerie sights I have ever seen. It was truly one of the most unique experiences that we have ever had whilst on holiday and are so grateful that we got to learn more about the horrors of what happened on the 6th August 1945. There were plenty of tour guides who we giving guided tours around the A Dome. We decided against this with Teddy in tow but for a bit of extra information it would be well worth it.
After this short but completely fantastic and informative few days visiting Hiroshima with kids we headed to our final stop, Osaka.
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