Hiroshima’s Takehara and Tomonoura in a Day
Apr 24, 2019 By Matt Mangham
With a nice little string of holidays at the beginning of May, you may be thinking of braving the roads for a day trip. From Hiroshima, there are any number of directions you might set off in, but if you’re fond of historic districts and traditional Japanese scenery, one sure...[ Click to read more ]
Diving into Hiroshima’s Sakes
Apr 23, 2019 By Matt Mangham
If you’ve only recently moved to Hiroshima, you may not yet be aware that you are in one of Japan’s three great centers for sake production, the other two being in Kobe and Kyoto. Of the three, Hiroshima is both the youngest and, by some metrics, the most innovative. Until...[ Click to read more ]
Hiroshima Concert Venues
Mar 26, 2019 By Matt Mangham
Several times a year, someone will say to me that they miss live music. And while they may really mean a favorite band or venue back home, if you love live music there’s no need to go without, even in a city as relatively compact as Hiroshima. Concerts can be...[ Click to read more ]
Art Museums around Hiroshima
By Matt Mangham
I wrote elsewhere this month about where to look for live music in Hiroshima. Now let’s talk a little about the visual arts. Again, if you count galleries and exhibitions in coffee shops and other venues, the possibilities immediately expand to fill more time than you probably have. For the...[ Click to read more ]
International Festival of Extreme Sports
By Matt Mangham
For three days in April, downtown Hiroshima will take on a new vibe as crowds of breakdancers, freestyle BMX riders, parkour players and other extreme athletes converge on the site of the former municipal stadium just north of Peace Park for FISE Hiroshima. FISE, which stands for Festival International des...[ Click to read more ]
Aqua Net Ferry from Peace Park to Miyajima
Feb 25, 2019 By Matt Mangham
Two of the best things about Hiroshima are its rivers and its proximity to the UNESCO World Heritage Miyajima. Unfortunately, many visitors to the city take no more than a passing, sidelong glance at the rivers, and board crowded trains to the JR Miyajimaguchi station to take one of the...[ Click to read more ]
TeamLab’s Digitized Hiroshima Castle
Feb 23, 2019 By Matt Mangham
teamLab (and yes, that’s the way it’s capitalized) is an artist’s collective based in Tokyo that bills itself as taking an “ultra-technological” approach to its work. The group was founded in 2001 by Toshiyuki Inoko, a University of Tokyo engineering student. Today the group has grown to over 400 members,...[ Click to read more ]
Mexican Food in Hiroshima
Jan 28, 2019 By Matt Mangham
The rest of the world’s foodies may cast a longing eye toward Japan, but let’s face it, if you live here sometimes you just want a decent taco. Once upon a time, this was surprisingly difficult, but no longer. Hiroshima has at least two good Mexican options now, while an...[ Click to read more ]
The Shopping Underground: Depachika in Hiroshima
By Matt Mangham
One of the best reasons to visit a department store here is to ride the elevator down to the basement, where a food lover’s wonderland lies waiting. ‘Depachika’ combines the first two syllables of "department store" with the Japanese word for "basement." Though they’ve evolved over the decades, depachika have...[ Click to read more ]
Books and Coffee in Hiroshima
Dec 28, 2018 By Matt Mangham
We’ve already talked about where to track down Hiroshima’s best hot coffee in the depths of January, but once you’re in the cafe, you’ll need something to read, surely. You can swipe through Instagramm, sure, but for now we’re shooting for urbane sophistication, and that calls for print. Unfortunately, Hiroshima...[ Click to read more ]
