The Hotel Granvia Hiroshima is not a cool hotel — the lobby looks like it should be filled with fussy grandmothers who insist you use a coaster — but it IS located within steps of the Hiroshima train station, which is a treat when — for example — you've landed in Japan about 24 hours earlier, have arrived (by bullet train) from Tokyo, and may not have what it takes to wheel (or lug) your suitcase much further than that. This is all about location.

The Hotel Granvia Hiroshima may not be cool, but it was where I encountered these VERY cool, simple, and lovely individual coffee pour over packets that I place near the top of the list of things that Japanese people do better than the rest of us. It is a long list.

Beyond that, the Hotel Granvia Hiroshima is pretty forgettable. I booked a Superior Small Double Room and, like most hotels in Japan, the bed would have been snug if I was traveling with a companion. It's also like most hotels in Japan in that it provides you with bedclothes (a housecoat, in this case), and has more buttons on its toilet than I do on the blender in my kitchen cabinets. My room was pretty inexpensive; I paid less than $125/night, although I was there before the peak "autumn foliage" season started in late November, so the prices could be higher at more popular times.

In addition to being close to the train station, the hotel is relatively convenient to a number of other spots you might want to visit while in Hiroshima. It's a 15-20 minute walk to the Mazda Zoom-Zoom baseball stadium (go Carp!), which is important in a city that is clearly obsessed with their home team. It's a bit more of a haul to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park (closer to 40 minutes by foot), but if you're American and you've managed to get yourself closer to this memorial to the devastation caused by nuclear weapons than any U.S. President — excepting Obama — my guess is that you can muster up the energy to take that walk. If your are tired, you can sit in quiet contemplation in the Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims. 

For those of you with healthy cardiovascular systems — or a desire to become someone with a healthier cardiovascular system — a walk up to the top of Futabayama Ryokuchi Park (25 minutes) is worth the view.

To reward yourself for all of your walking, you can head to Okonomi-mura, which houses more than 20 "Hiroshima-style" okonomiyaki restaurants. You will be back at the hotel for your food coma with a 25-minute walk.

I’d like to go back to Hiroshima some day — it took me nearly thirty years to get there the first time — and I might stay at the Hotel Granvia. I’ll likely again be tired and again want to stash my bag before heading out for a walk and some quiet contemplation.

My Stay: November 5 - 6, 2017