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shirenomadBlech. Spent the entire morning writing and typing up a two page essay (in Japanese!) because I'd been putting it off and it was due at 1pm. Just barely made it under the wire, and I didn't have time to go online this morning as a result. My apologies if I missed anyone.
This delay will not, however, stop me from posting Hiroshima Update Part 2!
"Hiroshima" means "wide islands", which is an accurate description of the city... it's built on a long river delta. Considering that the entire city was leveled 50 years ago (and that people were claiming at the time that the radiation would make the area uninhabitable for 75), it's encouraging to see the recovery it's gone through. The area is, as always, the center of commerce for the southern end of Honshu, and today it's a thriving metropolis much like Tokyo.
We arrived around 6-ish and crashed at this place called the World Fellowship Center. It's basically just a regular two-story house with three available rooms upstairs; call ahead and reserve as many of them as you need (three of us fit into one comfortably, and we probably could have packed a fourth in without getting cramped). There's plenty of books downstairs (on Hiroshima, the A-bomb, and WWII of course, but also on Japanese culture in general, plus some random ones about various subjects) and a decent selection of movies too if you feel like putting the TV to use (after we unpacked that first evening, we watched Dead Poet's Society). And a piano and a guitar if you're in the mood for "Kumbaya" or something. (Mike surprised us all by proving adept at the latter instrument. And me in particular for knowing "Fisherman's Horizon".) It's also a short 15-20 minute walk from the Peace Museum, and you get a home-cooked breakfast in the morning. All that for 3500 yen a night. If you don't mind taking turns for the shower, I'd recommend the place to anyone who plans to spend a night or two in the area. The caretakers of the Center are currently this sweet retired couple who have been running the place for about a year and a half; in another six months or so they'll pass it off to someone else (from their church? I think the Center is sponsored by some religious organization, though the fact that I'm uncertain should prove they don't shove it down your throat).
I mentioned a delicacy in the area last time but couldn't remember the name. It's called "okonomiyaki" (literally, "grilled tastiness"... oh, like you could come up with a better name! :p), and although it's available in other areas of Japan, including a place right in Tsuru, Hiroshima's is especially prized. They've actually got one building ("Okonomimura"; "mura" means "village") in downtown Hiroshima where three stories are devoted to seating about 200 patrons. (Is the second floor out of seats? No prob; move up to the next and order there!) There's also a place right on the corner near the Center, if you don't feel like a walk; it's smaller and closes earlier, though. Anyway, okonomiyaki (like just about any Japanese dish with "yaki" in the name) is grilled up right in front of you. Start with a thin layer of batter cooked pancake-like, toss on some vegetables, seasoning, and bacon (the last is optional for the vegetarian or kosher diets), turn it over and let that cook, grilled some noodles (soba or udon) on the side, plus a fried egg, turn the main portion back over and put the two on top in that order, add more seasoning and some sauce, slice, enjoy! Yum.
This delay will not, however, stop me from posting Hiroshima Update Part 2!
"Hiroshima" means "wide islands", which is an accurate description of the city... it's built on a long river delta. Considering that the entire city was leveled 50 years ago (and that people were claiming at the time that the radiation would make the area uninhabitable for 75), it's encouraging to see the recovery it's gone through. The area is, as always, the center of commerce for the southern end of Honshu, and today it's a thriving metropolis much like Tokyo.
We arrived around 6-ish and crashed at this place called the World Fellowship Center. It's basically just a regular two-story house with three available rooms upstairs; call ahead and reserve as many of them as you need (three of us fit into one comfortably, and we probably could have packed a fourth in without getting cramped). There's plenty of books downstairs (on Hiroshima, the A-bomb, and WWII of course, but also on Japanese culture in general, plus some random ones about various subjects) and a decent selection of movies too if you feel like putting the TV to use (after we unpacked that first evening, we watched Dead Poet's Society). And a piano and a guitar if you're in the mood for "Kumbaya" or something. (Mike surprised us all by proving adept at the latter instrument. And me in particular for knowing "Fisherman's Horizon".) It's also a short 15-20 minute walk from the Peace Museum, and you get a home-cooked breakfast in the morning. All that for 3500 yen a night. If you don't mind taking turns for the shower, I'd recommend the place to anyone who plans to spend a night or two in the area. The caretakers of the Center are currently this sweet retired couple who have been running the place for about a year and a half; in another six months or so they'll pass it off to someone else (from their church? I think the Center is sponsored by some religious organization, though the fact that I'm uncertain should prove they don't shove it down your throat).
I mentioned a delicacy in the area last time but couldn't remember the name. It's called "okonomiyaki" (literally, "grilled tastiness"... oh, like you could come up with a better name! :p), and although it's available in other areas of Japan, including a place right in Tsuru, Hiroshima's is especially prized. They've actually got one building ("Okonomimura"; "mura" means "village") in downtown Hiroshima where three stories are devoted to seating about 200 patrons. (Is the second floor out of seats? No prob; move up to the next and order there!) There's also a place right on the corner near the Center, if you don't feel like a walk; it's smaller and closes earlier, though. Anyway, okonomiyaki (like just about any Japanese dish with "yaki" in the name) is grilled up right in front of you. Start with a thin layer of batter cooked pancake-like, toss on some vegetables, seasoning, and bacon (the last is optional for the vegetarian or kosher diets), turn it over and let that cook, grilled some noodles (soba or udon) on the side, plus a fried egg, turn the main portion back over and put the two on top in that order, add more seasoning and some sauce, slice, enjoy! Yum.
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Date: 2002-11-20 02:43 am (UTC)*goes back to reading his copy of "Everything I Need to Know About Japan I Learned from Reading Ranma 1/2"*