Backpackers Hostel's Blog l J-Hoppers Guest House Lounge

It is not the name of Italian sports bland.
Translating the Japanese literally, it is "River kid".
Kappa is one of Japanese Yokais, which I introduced the other day.

As the name indicates, they live in the river.
A kappa has a plate with some water on their head.
If the water dries up, he should die.
He has a beak and a carapace. His skin colour is green and has 3 anuses (what !?).
His arms are connected in his body and if someone pulls one arm, the other arm becomes short (what again !?)
His favorite is cucumbers.
So cucumber roles in sushi menu are called "Kappa maki".




They sometimes harm people.
When swimming in the river, a kappa sometimes draw us into the river, poking the hand from the anus and drag out the innards.
So Pascal, please be careful when you swim in Hozu River.

Most people think Kappas are imaginary creature.
However it is not attested.
There are a lot of kappa legends everywhere in Japan.
I think existence of kappa has more realty in old times.

Nowadays they may superterrene obscurity somewhere deep in the mountain (like Hozu river) away from polluted rivers covered with concrete.

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After work last midnight, I walked into the Hiroshima Peace park and took the photo. A-bomb dome is a 10 minute walk from the hostel. The dome shows us another aspect to us at night. It is modestly illuminated and blends in with the surrounding landscape. Some couples are sitting on the benches just in front of the ruin and murmuring something to each other, certainly not about abolition of nuclear weapons.　In front of this quietness, it is difficult for me to imagine thousands of people jumped into the river at the end of the hellish heat and despair. The night dome was not scary, not awesome or not touristic. There was loneliness there.

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I went to Mitaki-dera Temple a few days ago.

By far it is the best temple I have seen in Hiroshima. It is around 2 km west from JR Yokogawa Station (20 minute walk). The temple were founded in the 15th century and one of the main pagodas are designated as a prefectural important cultural assets.

The premises are in a mountainside and the whole area is mantled in a luxuriant green. It would be a nice hiking as well as watching a lot of small pretty Buddha statues.

There are 3 little waterfalls flowing in the precincts from the different water sources. One of the waters seems very good as drinking water. Many local people come to the temple to get the water for tea or coffee. The water is also dedicated to the A-bombed victims who died in the extremity of the desperate thirst at the peace memorial ceremony on August 6 every year.

The temples are also famous for Autumn leaves. November is one of the best times to visit there. I am, of course, going there again to see beautiful coloured momiji trees.

There are some ways to get there from the hostel:

1 Take tram No.8 and get off at Yokogawa Station (the last stop) >> Then walk about 20 min toward Northwest

2 Bus from Kamiya-cho and get off a Mitaki-kannon (the last stop)

3 JR from Hishoshima station and gett of Mitaki, then walk about 500m.

Please feel free for the access at J-Hoppers reception

For more information of the tepmle, please refer to these websites:

Mitaki area in Hiroshima Prefecture Guidebook.

Mitaki temple in GET HIROSHIMA

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You may forget that you are in the very central part of the city...

Shukkei-en Garden is one of the most famous gardens in Japan. It is made in the early 17th century by the lord of old Hiroshima Domain. It is said the garden represents landscape of Lake Xihu (West Lake) in Hangzhou, China.
The garden had a catastrophic damage by A-bomb as well as the other buildings. A lot of victims escaped into the garden and most of them died there. Their bodies got buried under the hill in the garden.
The garden was restored in 1951.

The entrance fee is 250 yen, pretty cheap. You can get there by tram (about 20 minutes) from J-Hoppers Hiroshima Guesthouse. It may be a good idea to visit the garden to take time out to get a grip on yourself mentally after visiting the Peace Museum. It takes around 20-25 walk or 10-15 minutes by tram from the museum.


Some seasonal traditional events such as a moon-watching meeting or a tea ceremony are held every month. You can get further information at the reception of the hostel.

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Do you know there are still 2 A-Bombed tram cars on the active in Hiroshima city? We call them Hibaku Densha in Japanese. If you see the tram No.651 or No.652, that's it. I also found a short movie of No.651 contributed on Youtube.
5 were survived and repaired to revert while most trams were destroyed by A-bomb. 2 of them got retired last year and only 2 are active still now.



They are, of course, old (wooden!) , slow and sometimes cause traffic jams (The max speed is about 35 km/h, Tyson Gay is faster!). It is interesting to see this type of old trams and the latest one are going on the same rail. Even though there are some inconvenience in rush hour, we should preserve one of the few "living witnesses" not in the transportation museum but in our real life.

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