Chugoku · Prefecture Guide
A city rebuilt from tragedy into beauty — Miyajima's crimson torii, layers of okonomiyaki, and the world's most powerful peace monument
Hiroshima carries its history with extraordinary dignity. The Atomic Bomb Dome and Peace Memorial Park are among the most moving sites in the world — a mandatory experience that doesn't overshadow the city's remarkable vitality. Modern Hiroshima is a thriving, forward-looking city with a distinctive food culture built on layered okonomiyaki and some of Japan's finest oysters, cultured in Hiroshima Bay. An hour by ferry, Miyajima island rises from the Seto Inland Sea with its famous floating torii gate, wild deer, and the ancient halls of Itsukushima Shrine. For active travellers, the Shimanami Kaido — a 70 km cycling route bridging Honshu and Shikoku across island-hopping bridges — is one of the great cycling experiences in Asia.
Hiroshima is well connected by Shinkansen on the San'yo line. The city's street tram (streetcar) network is one of the most useful in Japan — a flat ¥200 fare covers the entire system including trips to Peace Park and the ferry terminal for Miyajima. Hiroshima Airport is 45 minutes east of the city by highway bus.
Deep-dive guides to help you plan every aspect of your visit — from top sightseeing spots to the best restaurants and seasonal events.
Itsukushima Shrine's iconic vermilion torii gate appears to float on the water at high tide, making this one of Japan's most photographed scenes. Miyajima Island also shelters sacred deer, a five-storey pagoda, and forested hiking trails leading to Mt. Misen's panoramic summit.
The symbolic heart of Hiroshima, this park surrounds the ruins of the Genbaku Dome — the only structure left standing near the 1945 atomic bomb hypocenter. Wander cenotaphs, the Children's Peace Monument, and the eternal flame to absorb the city's profound message of peace and resilience.
One of Japan's most important museums, documenting the human toll of the 1945 atomic bombing through personal artifacts, photographs, and survivor testimonies. Deeply moving and essential for understanding modern history, the museum advocates nuclear abolition and world peace.
Onomichi's hillside lanes connect 25 temples and shrines via a scenic walking path loved by filmmakers and artists. The narrow alleys are famous for their cats, vintage shotengai shopping streets, and sweeping views over the Onomichi Channel and island-dotted Setonaikai.
Kure's maritime heritage shines at two world-class museums. The Yamato Museum displays a 1:10 model of the legendary battleship alongside wartime artefacts, while JMSDF Kure Museum (Iron Whale) lets visitors board a real decommissioned submarine for a unique inside look at naval life.
One of the Seto Inland Sea's best-preserved Edo-period port towns, Tomonoura's stone-walled harbour, old merchant houses, and evening glow over the sea inspired Hayao Miyazaki's Ponyo. Walk along the ancient quay and sip local bingo-mirin sake at a centuries-old brewery.
Hiroshima produces over 60% of Japan's oysters, nurtured in the mineral-rich waters of the Seto Inland Sea. Enjoy them grilled (kaki-yaki), deep-fried (kaki-furai), or raw at waterfront restaurants in Miyajima or the city's oyster bars — best from October to March.
Unlike the mixed Osaka-style, Hiroshima okonomiyaki layers thin batter, cabbage, pork, and yakisoba noodles on a hot iron griddle, finished with a sweet-savoury sauce. Okonomimura — a six-storey building crammed with small stalls — is the pilgrimage site for this beloved local dish.
Saijo in eastern Hiroshima is one of Japan's top three sake-brewing towns. Eight historic breweries cluster together, their white-washed kura topped with distinctive red-brick chimneys. Visit during the October Sake Festival when 75,000 sake lovers pour into the streets for tastings.
Hiroshima's most famous souvenir is the maple-leaf-shaped momiji manju — a soft cake filled with sweet bean paste, custard, or chocolate. Miyajima has several bakeries where you can watch them being made fresh on cast-iron molds and eat them warm straight from the griddle.
Hiroshima ramen features straight noodles in a light soy-sauce-based chicken broth, often topped with chashu pork, menma, and green onions. Unlike Osaka or Sapporo ramen, the flavour is clean and delicate. The Eba district is particularly known for its long-established ramen shops.
The Shimanami Kaido is a 70-km cycling route crossing six islands between Onomichi, Hiroshima and Imabari, Ehime via a series of spectacular suspension bridges over the Seto Inland Sea. Rental bikes are available at each island, and the scenery — citrus orchards, fishing villages, and open sea — is spectacular.
From late October to mid-November, Miyajima Island transforms into a blaze of crimson and gold as the maple, cherry, and oak trees turn. The combination of autumn colour reflected in the sea around the floating torii gate and the sacred deer wandering amid fallen leaves is ethereally beautiful.
At 535 m, Mt. Misen is Miyajima's highest peak and one of its most sacred. Three hiking trails wind through primeval forest past giant boulders, stone Buddhas, and the Eternal Fire — said to have burned for 1,200 years. The summit reveals jaw-dropping views across the Seto Inland Sea.
A 16-km ravine carved through pristine mountain forest, Sandankyo rewards hikers with a string of emerald pools, suspension bridges, and the multi-tiered Mishigo Waterfall. Autumn foliage transforms the gorge into a mosaic of red, orange, and gold from late October.
A miniature landscape garden designed in 1620, Shukkeien compresses mountains, rivers, and forests into a strolling garden centred on a carp-filled pond. It miraculously survived near-total destruction in 1945 and today offers a tranquil green refuge in central Hiroshima.
The Shimanami Kaido is a 70-km cycling route crossing six islands between Onomichi, Hiroshima and Imabari, Ehime via a series of spectacular suspension bridges over the Seto Inland Sea. Rental bikes are available at each island, and the scenery — citrus orchards, fishing villages, and open sea — is spectacular.
The Setonaikai (Seto Inland Sea) is dotted with over 3,000 islands best explored by ferry. Routes from Onomichi lead to art-island Ikuchijima (Kosanji Temple) and Setoda. The calm blue water, pine-covered islands, and distant mountain silhouettes create scenery described as the Inland Sea of Japan.
Onomichi's hillside lanes connect 25 temples and shrines via a scenic walking path loved by filmmakers and artists. The narrow alleys are famous for their cats, vintage shotengai shopping streets, and sweeping views over the Onomichi Channel and island-dotted Setonaikai.
Saijo in eastern Hiroshima is one of Japan's top three sake-brewing towns. Eight historic breweries cluster together, their white-washed kura topped with distinctive red-brick chimneys. Visit during the October Sake Festival when 75,000 sake lovers pour into the streets for tastings.
Home of the Hiroshima Toyo Carp, one of Japan's most passionate baseball fan bases, Mazda Zoom-Zoom Stadium opened in 2009 with a retro open design that keeps fans close to the action. A full-stadium night game under the lights, with red-clad carp fans filling the stands, is an unforgettable experience.
A miniature landscape garden designed in 1620, Shukkeien compresses mountains, rivers, and forests into a strolling garden centred on a carp-filled pond. It miraculously survived near-total destruction in 1945 and today offers a tranquil green refuge in central Hiroshima.
Every August 6th on the anniversary of the atomic bombing, thousands of paper lanterns are floated down the Motoyasu River past the Atomic Bomb Dome as dusk falls. This deeply moving ceremony honours the victims and draws visitors from around the world in a silent vigil of hope.
Every second weekend of October, Saijo's brewery district hosts one of Japan's greatest sake celebrations. Attendees receive a festival cup and wander freely between eight historic breweries, sampling dozens of varieties. Over 75,000 visitors fill the lantern-lit streets each year.
Held every Golden Week (May 3–5) along the Peace Boulevard, Hiroshima's biggest festival draws over a million visitors with elaborate parade floats, regional food stalls, live stages, and a sea of flowers. The festival's joyful atmosphere powerfully symbolises Hiroshima's spirit of renewal and hope.
Each winter, Orizuru Tower and Peace Boulevard light up with millions of LED installations drawing on Hiroshima's iconic imagery — folded paper cranes, atomic dome silhouettes, and cherry blossoms — creating a dreamlike nocturnal walk that celebrates life, hope, and the city's vibrant future.
Learning to make Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki — the layered crepe-noodle-cabbage pancake that differs fundamentally from Osaka's mixed style — requires mastering the iron griddle, the precise layering sequence, and the perfectly timed flip that keeps all layers intact. Cooking classes in Okonomimura run by veteran okonomiyaki cooks teach the exact technique, ending with eating your creation topped with sauce and bonito.
The paper crane (orizuru) is Hiroshima's symbol of peace and healing, inspired by Sadako Sasaki who folded 1,000 cranes during her atomic bomb illness. Workshops near the Peace Memorial Park teach traditional origami from simple cranes to complex modular designs, explaining the senbazuru (1,000 cranes) tradition and the cultural significance of each fold in the context of Hiroshima's story.
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