This one’s definitely going to be heavy on text and images, so be prepared My first week here is more or less over, not counting tomorrow but I already have enough input without that one day missing. So as you all know, I’m living in the Ikenoue Dormitories  (池ノ上学生宿舎 ~ Dormitories above the pond) in Higashi-Hiroshima (東広島) for one year, to study at the University of Hiroshima (広島大学) here. You’ve already seen my room, so I decided to tell you about the area today, including the campus and the already mentioned Kagamiyama-Park (鏡山公園). I hope you do enjoy the article

Oh – before you read it, please try to think about a question of the month and post it here:  previous article. Thanks!

So where was I… the surrounding area, yes. I’ll start with the campus, which as you will see soon looks more like a park than what we usually see as a campus area in european cities. That’s because the University of Hiroshima was moved out of the citie’s center some 20 years ago, because of space issues and so on, and was relocated 30 minutes by train further east in Saijo (西条), or nowadays also called Higashi-Hiroshima, which means Eastern Hiroshima. And in that processs, they really did a lot to make it a study-worthy place and I think it looks magnificent, except maybe for some of the buildings, which do a little bit boring, if you ask me. But still, it’s really beautiful, as you will see in the next few pictures, which were all taken on the Campus (you can click on the images for bigger versions).

It has to be added that despite this look, there are still two supermarkets and several places to eat on the campus, so you’re also not missing out on those. But of course, it may not be as lively as a campus in a big city’s center. But so far I do like that feeling it has. My dormitory lies more or less right next to the university, as it’s only 5-10 minutes by foot and of course even less by bike. And as you’ve probably already guessed by the name, it’s lying on a hill next to a small pond. The building on the second picture is my house.

Now let me tell you something about the surrounding area. First, there is the Kagamiyama-Park, which is located very closely on the other side of the dormitory. I went there on Saturday for the Hanami of the cherry-blossoms (桜花見) and I was not alone: it was like every Japanese and their dog was there too. It was a really joyful athmosphere wild the sound of laughter and the smell of barbecue in the air. On the mountain itself there once stood a castle, but it can’t be seen anymore nowadays. Still, you have a nice view from up there, I tell you. I took my old grandfather’s field glasses with me and was able to see a lot of the surroundings. I even met some nice friends in the park and was invited to their barbecue later

Last but not not least is the small town of Saijo, which is the center of Higashi-Hiroshima and around 30 minutes walking distance from the university. I went there on Sunday with Yoshida-Sensei, who is my professor (people who know Japanese a little bit surely recognised this by the word sensei (先生)) at the university and helped me with a lot of things, and my Tutor Sari. The town is, as far as I’m aware, mostly famous for the many sake breweries there and for the big grave-mound, which is located there (I was told that you might even see it from the airplane…). So we went to see these things and while we did this, I catched my first sunburn of the year, because I didn’t expect the weather to become that warm and sunny. My nose was pretty red, I tell you. A lot of old people were also visiting the breweries and were having a lot of fun with testing free sake – as had I, but they drank a lot more xD And of course we went to eat Horishima-Okonomiyaki (広島お好み焼き) (I also wrote about this dish in another article last year: click), which is one of my favourite japanese dishes!

And with that, I hope to have given you some insights about the place where I live. I’ll probably drive to Hiroshima City on Friday to meet with a friend from last year’s Summer School, so I might write my next article on the weekend. Stay tuned!