We set off tonight to hit a recommended tempura restaurant via the park so I could take some night shots of the eternal flame and the dome. Imagine our surprise to see the lights on at the baseball stadium. Now baseball, or basu-baru, is the most popular sport in Japan, it’s on TV all the time all the time, so we decided to take it in.

We got in to the stadium midway through the 5th of 9 innings. We knew one team must be Hiroshima, but not what the other one was, nor which was which. After an innings I spotted an ex-pat, so went to ask him. The red team were the Hiroshima Toyo Carps. The blues team were the Chunichi Dragons. Oh and we were in the visitors enclosure. Actually it was hard to tell. Obviously they do not have crowd trouble here as both sets of cheer leading fans were in the same section.

It was rather good fun, though the Carps lost. From our untrained eyes they always looked second best. We might attend the second game (of 3) tomorrow night.

Oh by the time it was finished the restaurant, like most others was effectively closed. (The Japanese eat early).

Well we’ve now arrived at Hiroshima. This place looks good. Obviously very modern, and by the looks of things, not too large. The hotel (Hotel Dormy) is a modern business hotel that’s probably the best place we’ve stayed yet (and being back to individual rooms, no queuing for the shower in the morning, or me keeping Dave awake with my snoring). It is also only about 5 minutes walk away from the Peace Museum and Park.

Lunch was a little sureal. We ate at an Italian place, which was very Italian on the inside, while sitting by an open window, looking over a tree’d boulevard with bicycles and scooters parked up on the grass. We could have been in France or Italy during the summer. Even though you could see the museum in the background, it is rather Franco-Italian in style. Food was good too.

The museum is a must for all coming to this city. It is very good, giving a very ballanced view, though obviously much emphasis on an end to atomic weapons. The only problem is you get lots of school children being shown around – and that can flood the place, as happened to us.

The park is also very good, with a visible constant reminder of the A-Bomb Dome. From the middle of the museum you can look right down a long wide path, through the cenetaph, over an internal flame, down to the Dome.

These are a must see, but are certainly worth it.

The modern history books tell us the castle was destroyed in a 1945 air raid and rebuilt during the 1960s, but car was made to make it look like the original from outside while housing a modern museum on the inside.

The entry was expensive (800 yen) and the reality was there was not much inside, aside from the knowledge the teh jo was originally rather large – 35 turrest and 21 buildings (I seem to recall), however during the Meiji era the lord could no longer afford to own it, gave it to the government, who could not afford it either and so ripped down most of it. What was left, if it was as it stands, was not much and would not have given the real flavour of it. My advice to anyone going to Okayama is jsut view it from outside, you can go right up to the donjon for free, but don’t bother going in.