15 November 2015
Too many places to eat
Eating Okonomiyaki at Okonomimura in Hiroshima
Hiroshima is chock full of tourists, which means its much better set up for shopping and eating than Nagoya.
A short walk from my hotel is the main covered shopping street of Hon Dori, which on first impressions, is probably 75% of what the one in Osaka is.
Much like most of these shopping locations, eating places extend outwards and in the side streets. However, theres tourists, by the thousands. I think more than 25% of the people on the street were not Japanese.
A lot of the Japanese people looked like tourists as well, studying maps etc. This will explain why I cant stay here on a Friday or Saturday night, exactly zero accommodation was available when I booked a month ago.
It was busy, and everything was open. There are also trams, or trolley buses, or street cars, whatever you want to call them. These go up a similar number of streets as Melbourne.
There is a full range of old and new ones, apparently there are still 2 going around that survived the bombing. Maybe I will get to ride on a glow in the dark tram.
Now for the room key saga.
Earlier I showed a photo of the huge key chain thing. On this it says I MUST leave the key with reception whenever I leave the hotel. It also says this on the back of my door, and in the lift, and on the door as you leave the hotel.
I have encountered this before, but ignored it. Not today. The door man asked if I had handed over the room key. So I went and did that, reluctantly, after standing in line for the privilege.
As I returned from wandering around and having dinner, I had to stand in line for my room key. 15 minutes later, I get to the head of the line, room key please, room 2519.
The girl asked for my passport. I dont ever carry my passport around the streets despite the risk of jail and deportation, but I have a photo of it on my phone.
She wasnt having any of this though, and I thought she might call the police because I didnt carry my passport with me at all times.
So next thing the manager comes, and in broken English tells me its illegal to not carry your passport, to which I responded, yes.
This confused him greatly, some discussions were then had in Japanese just out of earshot.
He came back and told me to never do this again, and to always ensure I leave the room key and take passport.
I wont be.
I am going out the fire escape tomorrow.
Voltron was standing to greet me at the start of the shopping street. The real Voltron, not the stupid secon generation one made up of only lions.
It was very busy.
Random street. Reminds me a lot of Kyoto (which is also a tourist Mecca). The streets all have a little roof covering the footpath.
Apparently, this is the place.
This is the place for Okonomyaki, its a veritable Okonomyaki theme park. Multiple levels of near identical stalls all serving the same thing.
It hasnt really been tourist-a-fied at all. Its quite dirty, you can smoke at the counter whilst eating, noisy, hot, only stairs, plastic stools.
I asked for the traditional Hiroshima style. I was sat next to some Chinese people who insisted they put it on a plate for them.
The Japanese guy making my dinner spoke some English, and was amazed when I told him I was from Australia and travelling alone for a month.
This seemed to raise all kinds of suspicions from the two chefs and the other Japanese customers.
Perhaps they called my hotel for a passport check?
And here it is. Theres some bacon in there somewhere, but its mainly noodles, egg, cabbage and presumably fish flakes of some kind.