Traveling From Tokyo to Hiroshima (suggestions?)

[GermanCake]

Hello! I've been lucky enough to save up a little money and have decided to travel to Japan starting April 2nd and will be there till May 1st. I land in Tokyo and will spend about a week there before making my way west util hitting Hiroshima, where my mom's side of the family originally came from. It's a bit of a vacation and also search to find out more about my family history. My Grandmother witnessed and survived the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945, so I wanted to retrace her steps and take the the journey from the spot she was at and find the way back to where her home and family was on the other side of the city. I'm also going to try and look up any family we still have there. I have some names and addresses, but not much else so I might find a surprised and delighted welcome, an awkward encounter or nothing at all. But that's at the end of my trip, I still have a couple of weeks to get there and I was curious if there are seasoned travelers here that might shot me some ideas. I don't want to stray too far from my planned train route, but if there is a must see somewhere nearby, please let me know!

Planned route

I have plenty of things I want to do in Tokyo, but after I leave I was hoping to get some ideas of fun things to see or do on the way to Hiroshima. I plan to stop off at Kyoto, but that was the only major city I really wanted to see. I enjoy museums and loooove food. Also pretty big nerd, but I feel like I'll get plenty of my anime fix in Tokyo. I like to see the unusual and strange. I some people have suggested visiting the Ghibli museum. I plan to see a baseball game in Hiroshima as I already bought a ticket! I guess what I'd love it to come to a small town or village and find they have a unique and crazy festival where they dress up as crabs and scare demons away by spitting sake in peoples faces (maybe not that crazy, but you get the idea.) I wanna see something that not many people may know about.

I realized I'll be nearby the Kanayama Shrine during the fertility festival on April 7th (penis festival for those that haven't heard of it.) I might be content with more tame festivals once I start traveling now that I think about it lol.

Nakasendo Trail

Another suggestion I got was to hike along the old Nakasendo trail. Post stations and towns used during the Edo period as highways for travelers going from the capital to the other provinces. Many are preserved and can be hiked for some portions of the way. If you wanted to film a period piece of the Edo period then these places look unchanged since nobles, samurai and commoner alike would travel between inns. I have a vague idea of where some are, but if anyone knows of a cool trail or town, I'd love to know.   

Other than that, I'm completely open to ideas to places to see and things to try. If you have something you thought would be cool, please share!

[Dashou]

Hello!

My name is Dashou! By chance I happened to see your thread and thought I might be of help (hopefully). I currently live further north in Japan, but have experience living in the Kansai area (in Osaka). So I think I might be able to give some recommendations of things to do or see!

First, as far as the studio Ghibli museum goes, you might be able to still get tickets, but they typically go on sale on the 10th of the month prior (ex, tickets for April are sold March 10th), so they might be sold out already, I'm not entirely sure. They could also be a bit more expensive if you are buying them from a third party overseas. Just thought I'd let you know because they do require a reservation to be able to enter the museum. :)

Anyways, here are some interesting things I've compiled! If you still are looking at some stuff though or have questions, feel free to ask!

Tokyo:

1. If you are a history buff, the gravesite/temple for the 47 Ronin is based in Tokyo. (Sengaku-ji Temple)
2. If you like the strange and weird, there is a parasite museum here. Free admission! (Meguro Parasitological Museum)
3. Unfortunately you will miss Hanami, but another cool event that starts from April 6th is the Bunkyo Azalea Festival where you can enjoy seeing many flowers!
4. If you're interested in Sumo, you can try to catch some early morning trainings at Sumo Stable in the Ryogoku area.
5. Sensoji is a beautiful temple in Tokyo (it's Tokyo's oldest).
6. Ueno Park. This might be a bit cheesy, but there are some temples and I loved the zoo, so it's usually a fun place to go to to just relax, even just for a couple of hours.
7. Even if you don't go to see the fish markets at Tsukuji, I recommend going to a sushi restaurant (if you like sushi) early in the morning!


Kyoto:

1. Kiyomizu-Dera-- My favorite temple. I hearrrd there was construction on the temple, but even that was supposedly only every once in a blue moon so it's worth visiting anyways.
2. Fushimi-Inari Shrine -- another must see when you are in Kyoto
3. Kinkaku-ji --beautiful golden temple
4. International Manga Museum (Assuming since you like anime!)
5. If you will be in Kyoto before the 16th of April, you could check out "Kyo-Odori," traditional geisha dances.
6. Heard a lot of illuminations happen in Kyoto during April, so even if you wander around at night, you might be able to catch sight of some of them!
7. Yokai Street is in Kyoto! (Ichijo-Dori)
8. There are special flea markets that happen in Kyoto. Depending on when you are there, here are some options you have to getting a chance of buying some tradition crafts or just being able to look at all the cool things:

15th of the Month:
Tezukuri-Ichi

25th of the Month:
Tenjin-San

18th of the Month:
Toyokuni


Hiroshima:

**Besides the obvious Peace Memorial Museums which I would recommend visiting every one if you can anyways!

1. Itsukushima-- If you get the chance to explore the smaller Islands off of Hiroshima's coast, I recommend visiting this one! A lot of famous shrines, temples, and a Tori gate submerged in water!
2. Miyajima -- another of the islands, you might have seen pics of this one when looking up Hiroshima.
3. Rabbit Island-- It might be sad, depending on how you view such "attractions," but if you really like rabbits then this place is close by.
4. Tomo no Ura--- Place that was inspiration for Ponyo, another island, but a very beautiful one with many stores built on piers!
5. Shukkei-En --- a traditional Japanese garden with a bit of an odd twist-- everything is miniature!
6. April 14th--- Senda Wasshoi Matsuri Flea Market
7. April 15th --- Fire walking Festival at Daisho-in Temple. Only happens twice every year!
8. Related to Shukkei-En---I heard there are also tea ceremonies/tea leave picking events. I'm allergic to tea so I've never actually been, but it might be interesting to check out.


As it's late, these are all I've thought of so far, but I can ask around to some of my friends to see what they have to say, but if not, I hope you enjoy your trip to Japan!

[CaptainErotica]

It might be a little out of the way, but if you have never been to Nikko, it is worth it. They have the Monkey See/Hear/Do statues and temple. There is also the Sleeping Neko Shrine and several historical areas/temples.

I live in Yokosuka - about 40km south of Tokyo. If you like temples Kamakura is a popular spot. It’s where the giant Buhdda is. Odawara and has a pretty neat castle and some shrines, but again I’m not sure how much time you are willing to spend on traveling.