First stop: Hiroshima
After a 13-hour flight to Tokyo, we continued our journey in pouring rain to Hiroshima Airport.
It's not just the name of a textbook: it's a place where collective memory is felt in every street, in every monument. The Genbaku Dome, frozen in time, faces the Peace Memorial Park, where thousands of colorful origami cranes fill the space.
This contrast is striking: on one side, the memory of destruction, on the other, the vibrant expression of a desire for universal peace. Hiroshima is a city I encourage you to visit, a true duty of remembrance to cultivate for the years to come.
Nous sommes partis en Septembre et bien que le climat soit plus agréable qu'en été, nous n'avons pas échappé à la pluie.
Si vous aussi, vous souhaitez économiser de la place dans vos bagages, pas de panique : vous trouverez facilement des parapluies dans les supermarchés.
Ce jour-là, Hiroshima avait ce côté monotone : une pluie fine accompagnait chacune de nos visites, ralentissant le pas et plongeant la ville dans un calme presque solennel.
But all it took was to push open the door of a small restaurant to find a bit of warmth: here, okonomiyaki is not just a dish, it’s a symbol.
Unlike the Tokyo version, which resembles a thick omelet where the ingredients are mixed together, the Hiroshima style is stacked in successive layers: the thin batter, crunchy cabbage, stir-fried noodles, sometimes pork or seafood (#teamshrimp), all sealed with a sweet and savory sauce.
Diving back into the photos of Hiroshima makes me nostalgic - it was the first stop on our trip to Japan.
We often think about going back: wandering through the streets of a city that has rebuilt itself, despite the challenges, and finding that little okonomiyaki restaurant that left such an impression on us.
Our on-site advice
The hours of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum may vary depending on the season.
Learn basic vocabulary, especially for ordering at a restaurant.