My stay in Hiroshima with some irritation
Posted by: kirin on 
Aug 23rd, 2012 | 
Filed under: TravelAfter visiting the A-Bomb Dome and Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, my husband and I had a light Okonomiyaki dinner before heading for the nearest tram station to see the fireworks that happened to be planned for that evening when we were staying in Hiroshima.
To be honest, Okonomiyaki is not really my thing. But I tried it because it’s like I’m wasting the opportunity if I don’t eat it in Hiroshima. Hiroshima is famous for its Okonomiyaki in Hiroshima style, meaning Okonomiyaki combined with yakisoba. Well…but it wasn’t so wow to me. I don’t like Okonomiyaki so much after all. The thick sauce is too sweet and salty at the same time, which is simply too strong taste to me, and that makes me feel bored while eating. 
But many people usually like Okonomiyaki, including my husband who enjoyed it.
If we didn’t try to go to see the fireworks, riding on the trams could have been something interesting and fun. But what happened was…
the traffic got so congested at that evening and we had to wait bunch of people to get into the tram heading for the nearest stop to the fireworks. We didn’t expect to travel by a jam-packed tram even outside a big city like Tokyo. It was frustrating to see the inefficient and unproductive way of how to ride and get off the tram. (You wouldn’t care its efficiency when it’s not crowded like that.) It also ran very slowly and stopped in-between stops, due to the damned congestion, while the fireworks finally started.
It made my hubby and me irritated and we decided to get off the tram before it reached the destination. We thought it’s better to find some place to see the fireworks somewhere in the town. I recognize myself being a sort of short tempered. :p My husband is quite mild and calm at most of the time but he was not that time. ^ ^;; But it was surprising that most of the local people living in Hiroshima didn’t really seem to care about being too late for viewing the fireworks. It was possible the tram got to the destination when the fireworks already ended. I was not sure why the fireworks at one location could congest traffic that badly. It’s a tram, not a bus.
We sometimes saw some fireworks between the houses but the residential area was much more crowded than I thought. I expected to find some empty space or lot but there was none. Houses were built everywhere no matter how farther we walked. We were not sure if it was right decision to get off the tram. We decided to return to our hotel before we had to get jam-packed again on our way back to Hiroshima station. Totally exhausted! I thought it was going to be a good piece of memory if we could see the fireworks in Hiroshima because it happened to be on that day. As it turned out, both of us had a bitter experience of missing the fireworks while being quite irritated by the tram service. haha!
Here’s another disappointment with local food. It’s Anago Meshi (grilled conger eel over rice). I expected that it’s as good as Unaju (grilled eel over rice) but I thought I liked Unaju way more than Anago Meshi. Unagi is definitely more juicy and thick. There’s a famous Anago Meshi restaurant which we tried to eat in, but we had to wait for over 2 hours because it’s too famous. No way to kill 2 hours for queueing! Considering that the one we had was not from that famous restaurant, yet I conclude I’d choose Unagi for one time instead of 2 Anago Meshi. (Unagi is more expensive than Anago.)
Looks like I didn’t have much luck with food either in Okayama or in Hiroshima. I don’t think I’m so picky because I totally loved everything I ate in Hokkaido. ^ ^; BTW, I noticed foods are not cheaper either in Okayama or Hiroshima although the salary or wage should be much lower than what we can earn in Tokyo. The big difference is a house rent. It’s definitely cheaper than Tokyo. Maybe my short-tempered way of thinking can be fixed in a place like Okayama or Hiroshima before I’m dying from irritation. lol Well…I hope so. 
Gosh it took me so much time to finally write up this article. The next one will be about Miyajima.
Cheers!
Kirin
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August 23rd, 2012 at 12:04 pm
I don't like okonomiyaki either! I agree, it's very boring to eat.
So sorry you missed the fireworks! I have ridden the Hiroshima tram/streetcars before, in 2001, and they are really slow. I can't imagine how frustrating it must have been when it was that busy. It is great that the city keeps them, though, to remember how they rebuilt them quickly after the bomb.
It's too bad the anago meshi wasn't good. I haven't tried it myself, though I have had anago as nigiri. I love unagi though!
August 23rd, 2012 at 2:17 pm
Hi! I've been reading your blog for quite sometime and never got a chance to post a comment (love your blog by the way) – I just want to say 'the hiroshima yaki definitely looks good'. I've tried the regular okonomiyaki from Tokyo and I like it, the mayo and fish flakes definitely adds a bit more flavor. Hopefully in the future I can try the hiroshima yaki
August 23rd, 2012 at 3:00 pm
Hi Kirin,
I think I understand your feeling. If everything go wrong in one day I feel the same as you.
Okonomiyaki is either too sweet or too salty for me.
Sometime I feel like telling the staff not to put any sauce.
Will look forward to read about Miyajima.
August 23rd, 2012 at 3:33 pm
Sorry you had such a crappy time, Kirin. It's been that kind of week for me too. Maybe a disturbance in the celestial forces, lol.
August 23rd, 2012 at 9:47 pm
Oh dear , what a frustrating trip on the trams. And then the food was not so tasty. Maybe you should ask them to make the okonomiyaki without the sauce , I understand Anago is saltwater conger eel. Haven't tasted that yet, but I found this funny picture of a Japanese Anago farm. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Conger_myriaste…. They seem to love being close together.:)
August 26th, 2012 at 1:38 am
Oh I seldom hear people dislike Okonomiyaki, except for myself. It's like I finally find someone who understands why I say it's boring. lol
Anagi Meshi was just OK, but knowing how Unagi tastes, I have to say I'd prefer Unagi a lot more than Anago.
But the problem is that price of Unagi has doubled lately. It's getting more and more difficult for us to eat it. (x_x)
August 26th, 2012 at 1:41 am
If you like Okonomiyaki, you'll like it in Hiroshima style too. I thought I could like it because it has yakisoba (fried noodle) which I like, but after all I didn't like it either because what I dislike is especially the strong tasted sauce. -__-
Thank you for reading TKE. ^ ^
August 26th, 2012 at 1:51 am
Hi Winnie,
To me Okonomiyaki with sauce is too sweet and too salty.
But Okonomiyaki without the sauce is not good.
So I tend to avoid eating it as a meal. :p Maybe a few bites are enough, and only once in a while is OK. ^ ^;;
August 26th, 2012 at 1:53 am
Haha, it's OK. We sometimes have such time.
August 26th, 2012 at 1:55 am
Hi Walter,
Oh no, to me Okonomiyaki without the sauce is boring (in a different way from what I say boring with too much of the sauce) too. So either way, I'd have to conclude that Okonomiyaki is not my taste. :p
That Anago picture is kinda cute. ^w^
August 27th, 2012 at 2:30 pm
So the sauce in the hiroshima yaki is stronger than a regular okonomiyaki? (this conversation is making me hungry lol). Did you try out any food in Hiroshima other than their okonomiyaki?
August 27th, 2012 at 9:02 pm
You know , maybe this gave some architect the idea for the Japanese capsule hotel
except it's only one person per tube of course 
The new ones seem roomier than the old . http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/9/view/8111/…
August 29th, 2012 at 12:18 pm
Thank you for sharing the link. I never feel like sleeping in a capsule hotel. I guess I hate small space. XD
August 29th, 2012 at 12:20 pm
No, it's not. To me whichever the sauce for Okonomiyaki, either in Osaka style or Hiroshima style, is just too strong and I don't like it. x__x
I tried some sea food such as oyster too. That was great.
August 30th, 2012 at 10:51 am
I like okonomiyaki!
Here in London, they make it with rice, I have never seen it with noodles.
But the ones here are pretty good actually! (but very expensive of course as they always make all Asian food "exotic" and expensive).
The famous restaurant here is called "Abeno" – http://www.abeno.co.uk/
August 30th, 2012 at 10:57 am
Hi Sara,
Thanks for your comment. This Okonomiyaki with noodle is Hiroshima style. ^ ^
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