Hiroshima in One Day: /16:30 Atomic Bomb Museum — Guide miki

Title: What's a Private Hiroshima and Miyajima Day Tour Like? A Licensed Guide's Report

The guests were visitors from North America. One of the guests had loaded a SUICA card into a phone app, but as the balance was insufficient, they topped it up from a bank account. This procedure seemed to take a little time. Also, at Hiroshima Station, when passing through the ticket gate, one of the guests went through first, and when another tried to pass through using a phone, an alarm sounded. We reported this to a staff member and settled the fare using a machine at the station. At that time, I asked what to do when exiting at Miyajimaguchi, and was told that touching once would allow both to exit. Since I was a little worried, I accompanied them when exiting at Miyajimaguchi. As expected, it did not go smoothly, and it took a little time to exit at Miyajimaguchi Station. Since the guests looked a little anxious, I explained what the station staff had said. When I mentioned that each person needs their own SUICA card, one of the guests installed the SUICA app on their own phone while we walked to the ferry terminal. After that, there were no problems, and we were able to ride both the JR and the bus without issue.

At various places, one of the guests picked up litter that had fallen on the street. At first I thought it was environmentally conscious behavior, but next they picked up a mask in the Miyajima shopping street. Concerned that the guest might catch something, I explained that a mask could easily have a virus on it and asked them to be careful. The forecast for today was rain, but for some reason it was almost clear during our walk around Miyajima. It only rained for a very short while during the tour, so I was truly grateful. Today, before I knew it, we ended up enjoying a food walk of Hiroshima's local specialties. We also had ice cream, partly as a measure against heatstroke. Inside the Atomic Bomb Museum, the sign that used to say "Please be quiet inside the museum" had been removed. After reading the stories and letters of individual atomic bomb survivors inside, one of the guests was moved to tears. Both guests viewed the exhibits very attentively. At the start of the tour, when I mentioned that there is a fresh-squeezed orange vending machine on the rooftop of the newly renovated Hiroshima Station, one of the guests became very interested. When we returned to Hiroshima Station, there were 10 minutes left until the end of the tour, so I asked if they would like to go drink the orange juice, and they said they would like to try it, so we bought it on the rooftop and drank it inside the station. When the tour ending time came and I said goodbye, one of the guests suddenly offered words of thanks. I also received words of thanks from the other, and the tour ended on a warm note. That is all.

Click here for more details: Hiroshima & Miyajima in 1 Day: Private Tour, Licensed Guide

Tour Report by miki

Dear guests,
Hello! My name is Miki. I was born and brought up in Hiroshima. I enjoy traveling around Inland Sea areas and I enjoy chatting with guests from overseas!

In Hiroshima, you can see many beautiful rivers and old bridges. Lately, I often take photos of Hiroshima city including bridges and rivers. There are not many tall buildings here, but I know some places you can visit and see the view for free. By the atomic bomb dome, there is a building called Orizuru(paper crane) Tower. You need to pay to go up to the top floor but you can see the view of Hiroshima city and the Miyajima Island(Itsukushima).

Many tourists from overseas as well as Japan want to visit Miyajima Island. You can see a beautiful shrine from Heian Period which is around 12th century and a huge Torii gate in front of the shrine and it is in the water. There are several ways to visit the island from Hiroshima city. If you are going to stay near JR Hiroshima Station, we will visit the island by JR train and JR ferry. If you are staying in the city area, we can go there by streetcar and ferry, or there is a high-speed boat from Peace Memorial Park pier directly to the island and vise versa.

Hoping to see you in the near future!

Miki
Your tour guide in Hiroshima