Photo: Balon Greyjoy, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Hiroshima Travel Guide

About Hiroshima

Hiroshima is a city defined twice: once as a castle town founded in 1589 by the warlord Mori Terumoto, and once as the first city in history to be attacked with an atomic bomb, on August 6, 1945. The second event is why most visitors come — the Peace Memorial Park and its museum are among the most moving places in Japan — but what stays with them is the first city's stubborn return: a lively, modern regional capital of 1.2 million that chose to rebuild itself as a city of peace.

The Peace Memorial Park occupies the open ground near the hypocenter, a deliberate expanse of green holding the museum, the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims, and the Children's Peace Monument with its thousands of paper cranes. Just across the Motoyasu River stands the Atomic Bomb Dome, the skeletal ruin of the 1915 Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall, preserved as it was and listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996. It is a short, flat walk from there to the downtown Hondori shopping arcade — the contrast is the point.

Beyond the memorials, Hiroshima is an easygoing city with its own food culture: layered okonomiyaki griddled with noodles, and oysters from a prefecture that produces more of them than anywhere else in Japan. Hiroshima Castle — rebuilt in 1958 after the bomb destroyed the 1589 original — and the 1620 garden of Shukkeien round out the center. Note that Miyajima and its floating torii are not in Hiroshima city; they are a separate half-day trip by train and ferry, and well worth it.

Population: 1,199,391 (2024).

Interesting facts about Hiroshima

August 6, 1945

On August 6, 1945, Hiroshima became the first city in history to be attacked with an atomic bomb.

Atomic Bomb Dome

The Atomic Bomb Dome — the ruin of the 1915 Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall — was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996.

Castle

Hiroshima Castle was built in 1589 by the warlord Mori Terumoto, destroyed by the atomic bomb, and reconstructed in 1958.

Shukkeien

Shukkeien Garden was laid out in 1620 by the Asano family, the feudal lords of Hiroshima.

Oyster capital

Hiroshima Prefecture is Japan's leading producer of oysters.

Main attractions in Hiroshima

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park & Atomic Bomb Dome

Photo: Jakub Hałun, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

1-2 Nakajimacho, Naka-ku, Hiroshima 730-0811

The park built on the open field near the hypocenter, holding the Peace Memorial Museum (opened 1955), the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims, and the Children's Peace Monument draped in paper cranes. Just across the Motoyasu River stands the Atomic Bomb Dome — the ruin of the 1915 Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall, preserved as it was and listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996.

Category: Memorial

Hiroshima Castle

Photo: Jakub Hałun, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

21-1 Motomachi, Naka-ku, Hiroshima 730-0011

Built in 1589 by the warlord Mori Terumoto, destroyed by the atomic bomb, and reconstructed in 1958 with a museum inside. The surrounding grounds and moats survived in part, and the castle park is a popular cherry-blossom spot in spring.

Category: Landmark

Shukkeien Garden

Photo: Hyppolyte de Saint-Rambert, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Kaminoboricho, Naka-ku, Hiroshima

A classic 'shrunken scenery' strolling garden laid out in 1620 by the Asano family, the feudal lords of Hiroshima. Miniaturized landscapes — valleys, bridges, tea houses — ring a central pond, and the garden is especially fine in autumn color and spring blossom.

Category: Garden

What to eat in Hiroshima

Getting to Hiroshima

• By air: Hiroshima Airport is about 47 km east of the city in Mihara — limousine buses reach Hiroshima Station in about 50 minutes.
• By train: Hiroshima Station is on the Sanyo Shinkansen: about 90 minutes from Shin-Osaka, and under four hours from Tokyo. Streetcars and buses fan out from the station.

Getting around Hiroshima

Hiroshima is flat and easy to navigate. The Hiroden streetcar network — one of Japan's few surviving extensive tram systems — links the station, downtown and the Peace Park; a one-day streetcar pass is sold for unlimited rides. The center is walkable, and rental cycles are common.

Travel tips for Hiroshima

• The Peace Memorial Park and museum are a short streetcar ride from Hiroshima Station — allow at least half a day.
• Hiroden sells a one-day streetcar pass; it pays off if you ride more than a few times.
• Miyajima and Itsukushima Shrine are a separate trip: local train to Miyajimaguchi, then a 10-minute ferry.
• IC cards work on the streetcars, but keep some cash for smaller okonomiyaki shops.

Nearby cities

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