Travel Guide Higashihiroshima

Higashihiroshima is a political and cultural centre of the province of Aki since antiquity. Located near Hiroshima, it acquired the status of city in 1974 from the merger of several villages, Saijō, Hachihonmatsu, Shiwa and Takaya first, Kurose, Kōchi, Toyosaka and Fukutomi (all of Kamo District), and the town of Akitsu in 2005. A university town of 185 000 inhabitants facing the Seto Sea, it houses numerous ancient temples such as the Aki Provincial Temple, built under the Nara period or the ruins of Ochaya. But this is the second weekend in October, in Saijyo during the sake festival, that the agitation is the greatest. This event attracts more than 200 000 visitors every year, eager to taste the 900 sake offered. Renowned for the quality of its sake, the district of Saijyo is one of Japan's three main places for the brewing of rice alcohol.