Hiroshima in the Drizzle: A Budget Student's Wandering Notes
woke up to a drizzle that felt like the sky was just shrugging. humidity was at 70%, temp barely moving from 3.73°C, and i thought, great, my fingers are gonna freeze while i try to find coffee. but hey, that's the charm of traveling on a shoestring-you take what the weather gods give you.
first stop was supposed to be the Peace Memorial Park, but someone told me that the morning crowds there can feel like a human traffic jam, so i detoured to a tiny side street cafe i found on yelp called "Morning Drizzle Coffee." no website, just a handwritten menu and a barista who looked like he'd rather be anywhere else. the coffee was strong enough to wake the dead, and the toast came with a slab of butter that could double as a doorstop.
walking along the Motoyasu River, i overheard two old ladies gossiping about how the cherry blossoms here in early spring are "worth every yen," but in this cold drizzle, the river just looked like a gray ribbon. i checked the weather again and it's…still 3.73°C out there, so if you're reading this before heading out, layer up or embrace the chill.
lunch was a random pick from tripadvisor-a tiny okonomiyaki joint called "Hiroshima Soul Food" where the chef flipped pancakes like he was performing surgery. someone at the next table whispered that the line here gets insane after 12:30, so i snuck in at 11:55 and grabbed a counter seat. the layers of cabbage, noodles, and egg were a messy masterpiece, and i ate it so fast i almost forgot to take a photo.
if you get bored, okayama and miyajima are just a short train ride away, and i heard the floating torii gate looks even better in the mist-if you can handle the ferry ride in this cold.
by late afternoon, i was back near the Atomic Bomb Dome, and a guy selling origami cranes told me that locals still leave fresh flowers there every morning, no matter the weather. it's the kind of quiet persistence that sticks with you more than any museum plaque.
wound down at a 100-yen shop buying emergency socks (because mine were soaked) and then hopped on a streetcar that rattled like it was held together by hope and duct tape. the driver hummed old enka songs the whole way, and i thought, this is the kind of travel memory that doesn't make it into the glossy brochures.
so yeah, hiroshima in the cold drizzle isn't for everyone, but if you like your adventures a little raw and your coffee strong enough to cut through the damp, it's worth the shivers.
links i actually used:
- Morning Drizzle Coffee yelp page
- Hiroshima Soul Food tripadvisor
- Peace Memorial Park official site