Hiroshima surprised me with it's beauty. I had a preconception of another towering post-war Japanese urbania,ry more towering buildings set around narrow streets like parts of Tokyo or Nagoya, but perhaps due to it's geography it's quite an open, pleasant city. And no, not just because it has a big hole in it. Originally called Go-kamura (5 villages) it is more or less constructed around a river delta. Most of the rivers have quite verdent landscaped banks, and Peace Boulevard, one of the major roads in Hiroshima, is delightful. I guess it gets it's name from passing through Peace Park. There's a whole lot of peace in Hiroshima. Jesus, the fist place I tried to stay was called the World Friendship Centre (I'm glad they were full! Fuckin' Hippies...).
Due to the watery nature of the city, bridges abound. At one point a very interesting T-shaped bridge joining 3 islands together. Unfortunately, it's unique shape was the reason it was chosen as the target for the A bomb. T marks the spot. It is very close to ground zero. In fact, the bridge, Peace Boulevard and the Peace Park are all built around one structure, A-Bomb Dome, the twisted ruin of a building which remained standing during the blast simply because it was almost directly beneath it. This of course was no consolation to the people within the then Hiroshima Exchange, who were vapourised. The building is v evocative. The twisted, gutted structure seems a little unreal enhabitting such vital surroundings.

Miyajima island is the other great tourist desination in the area. About 20 minutes by ferry from Hiroshima, it is home to the famous O-Torii, the gate in the sea. It is also home to hundreds of boisterous deer who pester visitors for food. I particularly enjoyed watching a group of Aussie tourists attempting to get a deer into their group photo, only to have the animal eat one of their bags and do a runner. Good on you, Bambi, fight the tourist machine.

Deer aren't the only tame-wildlife attraction. Fearless hawks fly all around the west side of the island, and snakes and spiders can be found all over the trails up the mountain, Misen-San.

Aside from wildlife the main attraction of Miyajima (if you're anything like me) will be the views from up the mountain on the north-west side. The view is of the inland sea, the body of water between Honshu, Japan's main island, and Shikoku, one of it's three smaller neighbours. If the walk up doesn't take your breath away, the view will.