Hatchobori is a lively part of downtown.
The city of Hiroshima used to revolve more around the Hiroshima Castle, also called Carp Castle (not Magicarp).
For defense they built three layers of moats! I guess they assumed the baddies were not good swimmers.
Currently the castle only has 1 moat. The other two were filled in the 19th and 20th century. Less swimming for the bad guys, right? 🙂
Let’s learn the Japanese characters.
The kanji of Hatchobori is as follows:
八 (hachi) = 8
丁 (chou) = now this kanji is usually meant for the meaning of block or area in a neighborhood but at the time of the naming it was widely used for 109.09 meters. Yes, 109.09 meters to the dot, don’t forget it.
堀 (hori) = moat
These guys don’t have a chance if they were fighters instead of tourists.
So, we conclude that the area of Hatchobori was 109.09 x 8 …. (calculator, please!) erm….about 880 meters east of Hiroshima castle, thus the naming. (duh!)
Hatchobori, being the center of the city, has turned into quite the business district. Apartments are priced a little higher than normal (but still cheap for Tokyo or NYC standards!) usually around 70,000 to 100,000 yen for a decent flat for 1 person (around 700-1000 USD).
Nowadays, there are tons of businesses, share offices, small cafes and restaurants and slightly overpriced grocery stores.
If you live in Hiroshima, it is a common meet up place or landmark when going to somewhere nearby.
Look out for more Hiroshima Origin stories to come on our blog and Instagram.
You can also find some decent locations in Hatchobori and properties of possible interest on a previous article here.
-Andrew
interpreter/tv noodle slurper/foreign assistance for Ryowa House Real Estate
