Hiroshima

At 8:15 a.m. on August 6, 1945, Hiroshima had a population of roughly 350,000 people. Within seconds, an estimated 78,000 of them were dead. By the end of that year, the total death toll had risen to around 140,000. What the statistics cannot convey is the discrimination that followed for the hibakusha, the survivors: widespread refusal of employment, rejection of marriage proposals, and denial of insurance, all rooted in unfounded fears that radiation exposure was contagious. Many survivors hid their status until their children were safely married rather than expose their families to stigma. That detail rarely makes it into travel guides, but it is essential context for understanding the weight of what Hiroshima is carrying when it presents itself as a city of peace.

The city itself, rebuilt from nothing on the flat delta where seven rivers meet the Seto Inland Sea, is today a pleasant, modern place of 1.2 million people. It has excellent food, good nightlife, a famous baseball team, and trams that still run on tracks dating from before 1945. The reason to come is the history, but there is much else to do once you are here.

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and Museum

The park occupies the hypocenter area, the zone directly below where the bomb detonated at 600 meters altitude. The Atomic Bomb Dome (Genbaku Dome) is the skeletal remains of the former Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall, one of the very few structures near the hypocenter that was not flattened, preserved as a UNESCO World Heritage Site exactly as it stood after the blast. It is free to view from outside.

The Peace Memorial Museum is the main draw and it is not an easy visit. The East Building (the newer structure) covers the historical and geopolitical context of the bombing. The West Building, which underwent a major renovation completed in 2019, focuses on individual victims: personal belongings, lunch boxes, clothing fused by heat, photographs, testimonies. Many visitors find the West Building particularly difficult.

Admission is ¥200 for adults (around $1.30), ¥100 for high school students and visitors over 65, and free for younger children. Those prices are not a typo; the museum is deliberately kept affordable as part of its peace education mission. Hours are generally 7:30 to 19:00, extended to 20:00 in August and shortened to 18:00 from December through February. Advance reservations are required for the first hour (7:30 to 8:30) and the last 90 minutes each day; during the peak summer holiday period from August 8 to 16, 2026, advance booking is required all day. Book via Klook (international) or Asoview (Japan-based bookings).

The Children’s Peace Monument nearby is dedicated to Sadako Sasaki, a twelve-year-old who died of leukemia caused by radiation exposure ten years after the bombing, while folding paper cranes in the belief that reaching 1,000 would grant her a wish. She did not survive to finish them. School groups from across Japan still bring folded cranes to the monument; on any given day the base is stacked with thousands of them.

One detail most guides overlook: roughly one in seven of the Hiroshima victims in 1945 was Korean. An estimated 20,000 Koreans died, many of them wartime laborers who had been brought to Hiroshima under Japan’s colonial labor system. A Korean memorial stands in the park, though it was controversially located outside the main park boundaries for many years before being moved inside in 1999.

Miyajima Island

About 30 kilometers southwest of central Hiroshima, Miyajima (officially Itsukushima) is an island considered sacred in Shinto tradition. The floating torii gate of Itsukushima Shrine, standing in the water a short distance from the shore, is one of the most reproduced images in Japanese tourism. The gate was fully restored after its most recent renovation and is clear of scaffolding as of 2025. However, the five-story pagoda on the northern edge of the shrine complex remains covered for renovation work scheduled to finish December 2026, worth knowing if that specific structure is on your list.

Getting there: take the JR Sanyo Line from Hiroshima Station to Miyajimaguchi Station (about 30 minutes, ¥420), then the 10-minute ferry crossing (¥200 fare plus a ¥100 visitor tax introduced in October 2023, payable at the ferry terminal even if you hold a JR Pass). Two companies operate ferries roughly every 15 minutes; if you have a JR Pass use the JR West ferry since the fare portion is covered, though the ¥100 tax is collected separately.

High tide, when the gate appears to float, is the shot everyone wants. Check the tide tables at the Hiroshima tourist information office or online before you go and plan your ferry accordingly. Low tide is also worthwhile: you can walk out to the gate and examine it up close, which gives a very different perspective. Deer roam freely on the island and are largely unafraid of people, though they are known to steal maps, tickets, and food from distracted tourists.

Allow a full day. The hike up Mount Misen (535 meters) takes about 90 minutes each way and gives views across the Seto Inland Sea. A ropeway can carry you partway up if the full hike is not appealing.

Other Hiroshima Attractions

Hiroshima Castle, destroyed in 1945 and reconstructed in 1958, is worth an hour if you are interested in the city’s pre-war history; the interior now houses a museum covering feudal-era Hiroshima and the reconstruction period. Shukkeien Garden, a strolling garden built in 1620 on the banks of the Kyobashi River, survived the bombing only partially and was used as a refuge by injured survivors seeking water; the garden’s tea house makes a useful rest stop in a morning of heavier sightseeing.

Food

Hiroshima’s two signature dishes are okonomiyaki and oysters, and neither resembles what you may have tried elsewhere.

Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki differs from the Osaka version in one crucial way: the layers are stacked rather than mixed. The batter goes down first, then the vegetables, then thin-cut pork, then yakisoba noodles or udon, then a fried egg on top, finished with a savory okonomiyaki sauce. It is a full meal rather than a snack.

Mitchan Souhonten in the Hatchobori area is the restaurant credited with inventing the modern noodle-included Hiroshima style; the founder’s technique from the postwar era became the city’s standard. Expect a wait of 30 to 60 minutes at the Hatchobori main store during dinner. The branch inside Hiroshima Station’s Ekie shopping center is a shorter wait and equally good. Nagata-ya, just across the pedestrian bridge from Peace Memorial Park, is convenient for the tourist circuit and genuinely good. Okonomimura, a multi-floor building near Hatchobori dedicated entirely to okonomiyaki stalls, lets you watch cooks working the iron griddles at close range and is worth the walk.

For oysters, Hiroshima Prefecture produces more than 60 percent of Japan’s oyster harvest. They appear grilled, fried in breadcrumbs (kaki fry), and raw at seafood restaurants throughout the city. The covered Nagarekawa entertainment district near the Hatchobori tram stop has izakayas that specialize in grilled oysters to accompany beer; budget around ¥1,500 to ¥2,500 per person for a casual dinner with drinks.

Where to Stay

The Peace Memorial Park area is the most convenient base for first-time visitors: walkable to the park, museum, and the tram network. The Hilton Hiroshima, opened in 2020 on the edge of the park district, sits at the upper end of the price range (around ¥25,000 to ¥40,000 per night) and has good views toward the dome from higher floors. The Rihga Royal Hotel Hiroshima offers slightly older rooms but six on-site restaurants, a fitness center, and an indoor pool at similar rates.

Near Hiroshima Station, Hotel Granvia Hiroshima opened a new flagship building (Minamimon) in March 2025, directly connected to the station building, with contemporary rooms starting around ¥15,000 per night. It is the most practical choice if you are catching the Shinkansen onward to Osaka or Kyoto.

Budget travelers should look at guesthouses in the Nagarekawa district: options around ¥4,000 to ¥6,000 per night for a dormitory bed, with private rooms generally available from ¥8,000.

Getting There and Around

Hiroshima sits on the JR Sanyo Shinkansen line between Shin-Osaka and Hakata (Fukuoka). The Nozomi from Shin-Osaka takes about 85 minutes; the Sakura from Hakata takes about 60 minutes. JR Pass holders cannot use the Nozomi and should take the Hikari or Sakura.

The city’s tram (streetcar) network is unusually comprehensive for Japan and covers most tourist sites for a flat fare of ¥180 per journey, pay on exit. The trams run on some of the original lines that were operating in August 1945, a fact the city is quietly proud of.

The best single piece of advice for visiting the museum: go in the morning when you are fresh, allow at least two hours, and do not schedule anything emotionally demanding immediately afterward. The afternoon is better spent on the garden, the castle, or an early dinner.