Ushita Higashi
Ushita (Cowfield) is a rather upperscale and somewhat international neighborhood. Lying at the base of the mountain upon which you will live, it's home to all manner of small businesses, privately owned restaurants, convinience stores, temples, shrines, and residences. It is a very lovely area, with many older buildings saved from destruction in 1945 thanks to the mass of the mountain. When you get a chance, you really ought to take a long walk around the area and take in the sights, especially on a sunny spring day.
Around Your Apartment
The apartment is located about 3/4 of the way up the mountain, unfortunately in the middle of its steepest grade. Although if you're from a flat area like me the first few months of climbing can feel akin to torture, it is great for gaining stamina and and losing weight. Also, although a bit dangerous it is fun to fly down the hill on a bike. Moreover, the location is extremely convinient: the gates of HJU are literally 3 minutes down the mountain, and it's just a short walk to get to post offices, convinience stores, and supermarkets. There are also two bus stops within 3 minutes of the front door, one above and one below the apartment.
Directly at your apartment:
Right around your apartment you find mainly houses and apartments, though there's also a hair salon just down the hill a tad, and a dry cleaner just next door. At one times there was also a restaurant in the building with the orange awning but it apparently went out of business 2 years prior to my arrival.
Up the Mountain
Post Office Unfortunately, this branch office is only open til 3:00 and they don't apparently offer insurance on packages, or at least not large ones. Generally though, their service is a lot friendlier and the line lesser than that which you'll find at the post offices in Hiroshima proper.
Hirata supermarket I went there once and wasn't impressed I'm afraid. It's a bit overpriced, especially compared to such places as Daiei. It also closes early.
Yamazaki Convenience Store This 24 hour conbini has most everything you want, except phone cards for some reason. They also cannot handle some of the bills you will need to pay. However, they have fantastic ice cream (including sweet potato, goma, matcha, and coconut flavours) during the summer and despite the climb is probably closer than the other convenience stores in the area. The bus stop is right in front of it as well, so it's perfect for picking up a snack when you're on the way home. Also at nighttime, the stray like to hang out and sit on the peoples' vespas. They won't let you pet them but they're cute.
Vegetable Market During the day, right next to Hirata, there's a little farmer's market of sorts with some of the best prices you'll get. The people there were a bit suspicious of me at first but became quite friendly once they got to know me.
Down the Mountain
Of course, the first thing you pass is the school. Keep going down and you'll see the following:
7-11 This familiar convinience store is one where you CAN buy phone cards, pay all your bills, and purchase a variety of things including hagen daaz ice cream. However, the service at Yamazaki is usually much friendlier.
Bread Shop Honestly, if I wanted bread, I went to Sun Pieno at the Station because there is no bread in the world that's any tastier. This little place isn't bad however. As a side note, if you want to feed ducks or fish at Hiroshima Castle or Shukkein gardens, you can get bread crusts for free here.
Yours Open 24-7, this was the grocery store I usually went to. The prices are a little steep, but if you go around midnight, you can sometimes get great deals especially on meat, although selection suffers. You also can't buy premade meals like croquets, tempura, or kushi-yaki.
Yours has a good variety of household goods on the second floor, although you can generally get them at the dollar store for much less. Also of note is the bus-card vending machine on the first floor.
Besides these stores, there are also various hair salons, clinics, and what not in the vicinity, as well as a lovely park on the creek. It's a nice place to take a book and read.
Other Places in the Area
Second Post Office Going towards Hiroshima Proper, turn right just as you reach the park at the creek. Pass the rice field and turn Left. There's another small post office here, though it's almost always easier to go up the hill or down town.
Bike Shop Continuing past the post office, turn right at the first cross road. This little area has many shops, including clothing, coffee, fruit, and fish. On the right side there'll be a bike shop where you can get repairs, tires, and whatever else. The people there are REALLY nice and the prices reasonable. Keep in mind though, they're closed on Wednesday.
Mini Mall Keep going down that little side street, or take Bus Six, and you'll end up at a turn-about. There's a huge building that's a sort of mini-mall.
The first floor has a shoe store (it's expensive but they sometimes have deals), a dollar store (with a good selection and easy-to-walk-through aisles), and a sort of drug store without a pharmacy (shampoos, makeup, some household goods, health foods, etc...usually sort of expensive but good for the hard to find necessity).
The second floor houses the grocery store Wants, which sometimes seems to have better deals and almost always has a better selection than Yours.Right at the top of the escalator, you can find a bus card vending machine as well. The only problem is, besides the longer distance, that the mall itself closes around 9:00 or so and Wants shuts down at about 10:00.
Grand Hommes Bread Shop I love this place's name...quite appropriate. It's just down the street a bit from the mini-mall on the right hand side. They have pretty good bread though still not as good as Sun Pieno.
The Stationary Stop The name I'm afraid evades me, but next to Grand Hommes is a nice little stationary/pencil/whatever store. It has some very cute stuff, including anime-related items if you or your friends are into that. However, you can find good basic pens and stationary at the dollar store so unless you are looking for something unique or special, the prices in this place aren't worth it.
Bank of Hiroshima Unless things change, this will be the bank where you'll open and later close a local account. The International Center will help you both times most likely so it's not a big deal. You can get cash here if you wish, though it's just as easy to go and get it somewhere else if you're out and about as I always was.
Dekkino's Pizza I got to go here once when I first arrived, and was very impressed with the quality though the prices are a little high for my budget. However, I'm not sure it was in business when I left as every time I passed by it looked closed. If not though, check it out for a celebration or really tasty lunch.
There are other patisseries, clinics, liquor stores, and restaurants in the area though I have no actual experience with them. There is also a big fruit-veggie store that apparently has good deals but always closed early. Honestly, I didn't come to this area much surprising as it might seem. Prices here seemed a bit steeper than in other places and my hangouts were generally at Hiroshima Station or Hondori.
The Main Road
When you arrive, you will see that if you walk straight from HJU towards the river, passing by the little park, you will eventually reach a large intersection. Turning left will take you to Hiroshima Station and Fudoin Temple. Turning right will lead you towards Fresta supermarket.
Police Station Turn towards right and walk for a while. The kouban will be on the right. Unfortunately, it always seemed that when I went in there in need of a policeman, they were invariably out on patrol. However, if you can get a hold of them, they're usually quite friendly.
Fresta This is a large supermarket and a good meeting place. I never had a reason to go in it however since it closed early and had a reputation for being a bit expensive. The selection is supposedly very good though, and I was told it caters to foreigners.
Big Wave Sports Center All the way down the road is a big sports center. They have ice skating in winter, swimming in summer.
In Ushita Higashi, you have access to 3 pizza places who will frequently send you their menus and advertisments. One is Pizza Hut, but it's horribly expensive. Then there's Delita's which is more affordable but tastes bad. They have a wide range of non-pizza items though, including crepes, curry, and hagen daaz ice cream. Also, just before I departed a new place came in, but I have no experience with it. Beyond these places, there is Gusto: Skylark but for them to come to you there is a fairly expensive minimum-amount you must order, making it less expensive to simply bike down to them.
If you do find a place you want to get things from, ordering food is usually pretty simple. There are just a few differences than delivery here, the first being that the person on the other end will invariably double-check everything you say more than twice. When the food arrives, you cannot usually pay in credit card and must use cash. You do not however tip the delivery person.
You have 4 basic options to getting out of the area and into the city.
Busses
Bus 5 will take you around Ushita, and then to Hiroshima Station (takes 20 minutes or so). At that point it branches into two routes. 5-2 will take you back home but 5-1 will take you down to the Daigaku Byoin where they'll kick you off the bus. It's useful though if you're wanting to go to some of the malls and suchnot in the Danbara area.
Bus 6 will first take you to the mini mall before crossing the bridge to Hakushima and then onto Hatchobori and Hondori (about 30-40 minutes).
You can pick it up again at any of the places it drops you at, though keep in mind that at the mini mall, not every bus 6 will be going back up the hill. Most of the return busses in fact don't even go down that road. Check the 'destination' sign on the front of the bus to make sure of its route.
Beyond Hatchobori, bus 6's route also splits apart, so you'll want to examine the routes if you're looking to go somewhere further afield.
The Diamond City Shuttle/Kirin Beer Garden bus makes stops around Hiroshima Station and of course at Diamond City mega-mall, but as it only comes once an hour, and never at a time that was convinient for me, I've never actually used it.
The Bike
One of the greatest things you get as an exchange to HJU is a bike, an expensive and luxurious commodity for a one-year exchange student. When I left at least, it was in good shape complete with a new bell and tire. I would mention that it needed new brakes before long but they were still holding on. It comes fully equipped with a basket, headlight, rack, and locks.
In any event, bikes are VERY useful especially if you have a tight budget that busses just don't fit into. They can also save you time when traffic is heavy or the bus doesn't go where you need it to.
Some notes about bike usage:
1. No one uses bike bells til they're atop of you. You really shouldn't mimic them however.
2. You're supposed to turn that headlight on after sunset...and it's not a bad idea. The only thing is that it makes pedaling a bit harder since it generates power for the bulb via friction from the tire.
3. Parking is the only major issue with your bike. You'll see that most people just leave their bikes in a huddle around convinience stores, park entrances, and anywhere else there's free space. Although it's tempting to copy them,this is not a wise option. If a regular police man is around when you return, they will really give you an earful. Also, every so often the "Bike Police" come around and take a whole collection of bikes to the "pound", making the owners shell out 3000yen ($30) or so to get them back. The pound is located in Ujina too, which is a long distance from the apartment, so getting down and back can be an issue.
Some people think that they can defeat this system by locking their bike to something solid like a park bench or lamp post. This does not stop the bike police who will simply remove the offending wheel.
There are also bike thieves to keep in mind.
Luckily, I never actually had my bike taken or mutilated, but I have seen it done and known people it has happened to. Thus, although most of the time the worst that will occur is that you will get a piece of paper tied to your handles reprimanding your action, I would seriously recommend simply taking your bike to a parking garage where for 100 yen you are safe all day from worry and possible hassle of trying to get it back. There are even some garages such as the bike lot at Tokyo Hands that are actually free I understand, but they're only open til about 8:00PM or so. I generally used the Fukuya in front of Hiroshima Station or the underground lot at Alice Gardens which are both open till 11:00 PM.
If come closing time for the garage and your bike is still there, you're stuck. However, by that hour the police no longer pay any attention. Thus, it is generally safe to find place among all the other illegally parked bikes and tie up your own if you plan to be out late.
Walking
Walking may take longer, but as they say, Life is about the journey, not the destination. In any case, it only takes about 30 minutes to get to Hiroshima Station, 40 to Hatchobouri. Plus walking gives the added bonuses of providing exercise and making it so you don't have to worry about paying bus fares, parking garage fees, or losing your bike.
Taxis
Taxis constantly circle every area area of town, and if you need one at a certain time or can't seem to find one, you can always call them. The only catch, they're EXPENSIVE. It's $10 or so to get anywhere near Hiroshima Station. On the other hand, you don't tip them, and many of the drivers are VERY friendly. Also, they are the only form of transportation that run 24/7.
I only used Taxis a handful of times, mainly when I had heavy packages to take to the post office and to get to Hiroshima Station on the night I left Japan.