Hiroshima Day 2 (June 24)

The weather was much more cooperative than we imagined it would be based on early forecast. Unfortunately, we also had to change hotels today, so after waking up, we went downstairs to the breakfast buffet offered by the hotel. It was actually quite good to be included for free in the cost of our stay. There was fruit, cereal, 4 kinds of bread, orange juice, miso soup, yogurt and coffee. It was enough to fill us up.

Back up in the room, we packed and prepared to leave. The plan was to leave our large suitcase here, and take our carry-ons over to the next hotel to hold until check in later in the day. And that is what we did. We wheeled our bags just around the corner to the Dormy Inn, then we crossed the street to the ANA Hotel where I purchased day passes for the streetcar. Passes in hand, we actually headed across Hondori to the Book-Off discount and used bookstore, where we killed about 30 minutes looking at books. Finally we crossed back to the middle of Hondori to the streetcar platform and waited for the #1 line bound for Hiroshima Station.

We were able to board one of the very modern eco-friendly streetcars and rode it to the end. At Hiroshima Station we quickly changed over to a #5 car bound for Hiroshima Port, but we would be getting off at the third station. Our destination was Hijiyama Park, wherein lies both the Hiroshima City Manga Library and the Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art. From the streetcar station, the entrance to the park was just across the street, but it was an uphill walk to get to the park area. The walk wasn't really that bad, about 10 to 15 minutes up a leisurely incline. The overcast sky and the greenery of the park made for a pleasant, if just a little humid, walk. At the top we headed to the right to the Manga Library.

The building is not that large and the collection is on the second floor. We climbed the stairs and entered the busy room. Racks and racks of shelves held the large collection of manga (over 77,000 volumes) and, since this was a Saturday morning, we shouldn't have been surprised to see so many people already in the space. What was surprising was the mix of both children and adults of all ages perusing the shelves or sitting quietly reading. The other surprise was the quietude. Yes, it was a library, but it seemed almost incomprehensible that so many people (maybe 50 or so) could fill such a small space and not generate much noise. F selected the first half of Candy Candy, K picked up a KeshiKasu-Kun lying on the table when he couldn't locate the One Piece volumes. I browsed through a number of research volumes until I found my way over to the monthly section and found that the library had a subscription to Mad Magazine. We ended up staying there for an unbelievable two and a half hours. In the end, we were waiting for F to finish her Candy Candy. As we departed, she even commented that she didn't mind coming back to finish the second volume.

We next headed across the plaza to the Museum of Modern Art. The main entrance, a space-age'y semicircle, was up a few steps and through a metal and glass automated portal door. After paying our ¥360 x 2 (K was free) we headed to the first of four exhibits. The first was a collection of local artists. Then down the stairs to a more permanent collection of works under the banner of "Warau" (laugh or smile). Back up to the first floor and down to a temporary video installment called "Hyper Links for Dead Links" produced by the Candy Factory. Then back upstairs to a second video installation, a collection of three surreal pieces by ???. Outside the museum we took a brief look around the outdoor installations before heading back down to the streetcar platform.

When the #5 came back we boarded, then transferred to a #1 at Matoba Station. We got off at Tenmaya department store, but headed down the street a block or two in search of OkonomiMura, a collection of Okonomiyaki restaurants occupying three floors of building. We detoured to Yamada Denki to make sure the cell phone we bought last year was still active (it was!). At OkonomiMura our preferred stall was full so we decided, tired or not, to walk a few more blocks to locate the Mitchan Okonomiyaki restaurant.

After dinner we stopped for a small shake at MOS Burger for dessert. Bellies full, we made our way back to the Dormy Inn to check in. We settled into the room, then K and I went up to the onsen on the eigth floor. It was a very nice bath and was a very relaxing way to end the day.