It’s our third day traveling in Hiroshima. Today, we checked out of the hotel that we had stayed in for the past two days and moved to another hotel nearby. The next hotel is called ‘Hotel Intergate Hiroshima’.
https://www.intergatehotels.jp/hiroshima/en/
Why did we switch hotels? The answer is, actually, there were two hotel chains we wanted to experience on this trip; one was ‘Candeo Hotels’ and the other was ‘Intergate Hotels’. And I noticed that these two hotels were coincidentally located very close to each other. So, we decided to stay at both hotels during our visit because it was a great opportunity.
The second place to stay, ‘Hotel Intergate Hiroshima’, had a spacious lounge on the top floor that hotel guests could use for free during their stay. The services in the lounge range from serving coffee and smoothie in the early morning to afternoon tea with cookies and soft drinks, a happy hour in which wine and cocktails are available, and even an “Ochazuke” buffet in the evening! (Ochazuke is one of the Japanese traditional foods and boiled rice in soup.) You can enjoy all services for free while you stay in the hotel.
By the way, the reception of this hotel is also on the top floor, the 14th. As you exit the elevator on the top floor, the hotel reception is on your right, and just before that, to your left, is this spacious lounge. From the large windows, you can have a panoramic view of Hiroshima’s cityscape, and there’s a door leading to an outdoor terrace seating area. There are plenty of chairs and sofas in the lounge, making it seem like a great spot to read books or magazines, chat with family or friends, or even bring a laptop and work.
My son wanted to play a game in the room (and wanted me to leave him alone for a while (laugh)), so during our stay, I visited the lounge several times alone for afternoon tea time and for reading. Also, we used this place for Ochazuke buffet at night!
Today, we stayed at the first hotel until 1 p.m. (thanks to a booking benefit from the official website, we could extend our stay by one hour for free). After checking into the second hotel early (again, thanks to a benefit from their official website, we could do an early check-in) and taking a rest in our room for a while, we went out to a big home electronics retail shop and a department store within walking distance. We spent our time there until the evening. For dinner, since my son said he wanted to eat pasta, I searched online for a good Italian restaurant. Among many Italian restaurants, I found this one↓
“Yukarin no Daidokoro” (which means “Yukarin’s Kitchen.”)
https://yukarinnodaidokoro2022.com/index.html
Besides Italian dishes, they have various other menu items we can choose from, so we thought it might be interesting! We visited the restaurant right after its opening time at 6 p.m. Since it was still early, the place wasn’t too crowded, and we were promptly seated. It seemed that this restaurant had relocated and reopened last year from another location. The interior had a retro vibe, and what was unique was that the chairs were slightly taller than usual, similar to bar stools. The menu offered a range of dishes, from Italian-style items like pasta and pizza to Japanese-style dishes like yakisoba and yaki-udon, as well as creative dishes perfect for pairing with alcoholic drinks. So it was tough to choose!
In the end, my son chose the “Vongole Bianco” (=”spaghetti alle vongole in bianco” in Italian), while I ordered a slightly spicy pasta tailored for adults. The restaurant recommended both dishes. While I don’t usually handle very spicy food well, I thought a little spice might be manageable. However, its spiciness was more than I expected! I gulped down my drink and ate it while sweating profusely. But still, it was really delicious. My son also enjoyed his dish so much.
Besides Italian dishes, they have various other menu items we can choose from, so we thought it might be interesting! We visited the restaurant right after its opening time at 6 p.m. Since it was still early, the place wasn’t too crowded, and we were promptly seated. It seemed that this restaurant had relocated and reopened last year from another location. The interior had a retro vibe, and what was unique was that the chairs were slightly taller than usual, similar to bar stools. The menu offered a range of dishes, from Italian-style items like pasta and pizza to Japanese-style dishes like yakisoba and yaki-udon, as well as creative dishes perfect for pairing with alcoholic drinks. So it was tough to choose!
In the end, my son chose the “Vongole Bianco” (=”spaghetti alle vongole in bianco” in Italian), while I ordered a slightly spicy pasta tailored for adults. The restaurant recommended both dishes. While I don’t usually handle very spicy food well, I thought a little spice might be manageable. However, its spiciness was more than I expected! I gulped down my drink and ate it while sweating profusely. But still, it was really delicious. My son also enjoyed his dish so much.
We returned to the hotel room, took a short rest, and then went to the large communal bath in the hotel. The first hotel’s communal bath was on the top floor of the building, but in the second one it was on the first floor. We took the elevator down to the second floor and then used a private staircase to get to the communal bath on the first floor. Since there was no one in there, I was able to bathe slowly!
Well, tomorrow we will finally be going to the main purpose of this trip, the Atomic Bomb Dome and the Peace Memorial Museum in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. It is within walking distance from the hotel, so we plan to have breakfast and then depart early in the morning.