Planning a Trip to Hiroshima before Studying Abroad
When it comes to Hiroshima, it is known as the place where the world's first atomic bomb was dropped during World War II. With the possibility of nuclear use in Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the G7 summit held in May, the world's attention has been increasingly focused on Hiroshima.
Every time I saw news or documentaries about Hiroshima's atomic bomb, and especially the Atomic Bomb Dome, and realized that I had never visited these war memorials, I felt a sense of regret.
Although I had opportunities to contemplate peace in places like Nagasaki and Okinawa, when I recalled those experiences, Hiroshima and the Atomic Bomb Dome came to my mind as places I wanted to visit just like the others.
By the way, I have been to Hiroshima itself, and maybe I have passed by the surrounding areas, but I only have memories of visiting Miyajima. Moreover, at that time, I was obsessed with the game "Sengoku BASARA," so I probably only thought of it as the land of Motochika Mori.
When I thought about going to Malaysia and becoming someone's "first encounter with a Japanese person," I decided to visit the Atomic Bomb Dome once.
However, due to my study abroad arrangements, I had to go for vaccination and make preparations on weekends, and there was work that I had to finish intensively on weekdays before flying to Malaysia. Therefore, I decided to take a day off on a weekday and turn the trip to Hiroshima into a day trip.
This time, I want to write about the journey to Hiroshima and everything leading up to the arrival.
Boarding the Overnight Bus
For this trip, I chose the overnight bus as the means of transportation. I am a veteran of overnight buses, having taken a 14-hour round trip on the famous "Hakata-go," known as the king of overnight buses, from Tokyo Shinjuku to Fukuoka Hakata. During my student days, I often took these buses because I could start my activities early in the morning.
This time, I chose the Orion Bus (Comfort seats) to travel from Tokyo to Hiroshima, which takes about 12 hours. The boarding point is the Tokyo Station Kajibashi parking lot. The bus is equipped with power outlets or USB ports for charging smartphones, and there are breaks approximately every 2 to 3 hours during the journey.
Visiting a Public Bath in Ginza
Now, I thought Tokyo Station was the nearest station from the bus stop named "Tokyo Station Kajibacho parking lot." However, when I checked on Google Maps, it turned out that Yurakucho Station was actually closer.
Levels UP! I became a Google Local Guides!
If I could just remove my makeup, I wouldn't mind waiting until the next morning or even the end of the trip to take a bath. But since I had the chance, I looked for a place where I could take a bath. Among the options, I found a sento (public bath) called "Ginza-yu."
I was surprised to find a sento in Ginza. When I entered, it was a spacious and relaxing sento, which I couldn't believe was located right in the heart of the metropolis.
The wall of the women's bath was decorated with fireworks from the Sumida River, making it glamorous.
The bath was quite hot. I'm not sure if it's really for a specific reason, but according to the reviews, it seems to be at a temperature preferred by Edo locals.
Asked for Directions by Foreign Tourists
After getting out of the bath and until I boarded the bus, I wandered around Yurakucho, cooling off from the heat of the bath and doing some window shopping.
Then, a group of female travelers, who I assumed were probably from South Korea, approached me and asked in English for directions to Sanrio World (a huge Sanrio shop).
I knew about Sanrio World, but since I tend to get lost around the theater district from Yurakucho, I checked the directions before guiding them. It's funny to think what would have happened if I hadn't been a Tokyo local.
I had given directions in broken English before, but it had been a while since I used English in the city like this. Thanks to the results and motivation, I felt that I could explain more smoothly than when I was a student.
As it was around 21:00 and the shops were gradually closing, I headed to the bus stop in the parking lot and boarded the overnight bus.
There seemed to be fewer people traveling on long-distance overnight buses on weekdays, as even though it had 4-row seating, there was no one sitting next to me.
Although I have taken overnight buses and express buses before, this was probably my first time riding the Orion Bus due to the route and schedule. It quickly became dark compared to other buses and the lights were completely turned off.
Usually, I would wake up a bit during the breaks, so I had a memory of being unsure of when it was okay to get off during a bus trip where there were no passenger drop-offs and it was just a break for the driver change. This time, it was refreshing to be able to get off during every short break.
At the Service Area in Okayama, I found Momotaro.
And the next morning, I arrived in Hiroshima around 9:00.
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