Our plan to spend time in Miyajima changed when we looked outside first thing and saw the horrendous rain. In a place like Japan, especially in a big city like Hiroshima, there is always stuff to do in the rain but ascending Mt Misen was not one of them. When we looked and saw that the day was predicted to continue like that all day we decided to rethink.

After a lie in we went for a chat over breakfast. Our hotel was one of first on our trips to Japan that had offered breakfast and we were intrigued by the peculiar breakfast choices. 9am curry anyone? We eventually decided we’d go shopping and see what Hiroshima had to offer in that department.

Our day ended up being spent shopping on Hondori street. We spent about 7 hours there and if my budget and suitcase had allowed me I’d have spent even longer!

One thing we noticed shopping in Hiroshima that was seemingly absent from the main streets of Tokyo was the addition of second-hand clothing shops.

What surprised me the most was how well organised they were, how amazing the condition of the clothing and just how damn cheap they were! What’s more they were absolutely filled with designer garbs and unlike countries like China, it’s the real thing in Japan. I picked up a beautiful Diane Von Furstenburg dress for 2000 yen (£14) and we walked into one place with a blazer sale on, with them reduced to just 200 yen, an incredible £1.40!! Needless to say I stocked up on 5 before Adam reminded me of the suitcase weight limit!

After some purikura (mandatory!) we proceeded back to our hotel so we could start the Tetris puzzle that was to become our suitcases. Feeling too tired to head out for dinner we picked some things up from the supermarket (like an actual supermarket, something we’d only come across once before in Japan!) and settled in for a bed picnic.

Judging by the pure amount of explanation marks in this post I’d say the day was a success!

Steps walked: 9987