chugokuhiroshima
Hiroshima
Hiroshima is the largest city of the Chugoku region, on the delta of the Ota River in Hiroshima Prefecture, western Honshu, about ninety minutes from Osaka by Shinkansen and the gateway to the island shrine of Miyajima.
The Atomic Bomb Dome on the Ota River, Hiroshima
- Prefecture
- Hiroshima
- Region
- Chugoku
- Journeys
- One of our journeys
overview
A city of rivers and bridges, rebuilt around a park that asks its visitors to remember.
Hiroshima was founded in 1589, when the warlord Mori Terumoto built a castle on the islands of the Ota delta, and for more than two centuries afterwards it was the castle town of the Asano lords. By the twentieth century it was a prosperous city of some 350,000 people and a garrison of the Imperial Army. At 8.15 on the morning of 6 August 1945 it became the first city in history to be struck by an atomic bomb. Most of the centre was destroyed in an instant, and an estimated 140,000 people had died by the end of that year.
The city that rose afterwards chose to dedicate itself to peace. The Peace Memorial Park, designed by the architect Kenzo Tange on the open ground where the old commercial district had stood, runs from the ruin of the Atomic Bomb Dome, inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1996, past the cenotaph and the Flame of Peace to the Peace Memorial Museum. It is a place for quiet and for time, and a visit with someone who can speak of the day, the survivors and the city's long work for disarmament is among the most affecting hours in any journey through Japan.
Hiroshima today is a green and open city of some 1.2 million people, its six rivers crossed by bridges and lined with walks and willows. It has a fine garden in Shukkei-en, a rebuilt castle, a museum of French painting and a food culture of its own: oysters from the bay, the layered okonomiyaki of the city, and sake from the brewing town of Saijo. A short journey west, Miyajima and the torii of Itsukushima Shrine stand in the Inland Sea, and most guests give the two places a day each.
Our tours stay overnightOur tours visit for the dayOn a Custom Tour of Japan
see and do
What to see in Hiroshima
The Peace Memorial Park
Twelve hectares of lawns, trees and memorials on the point of land between the Motoyasu and Honkawa rivers, laid out by Kenzo Tange and opened in the 1950s. Its central axis lines up the museum, the cenotaph, the Flame of Peace and the Atomic Bomb Dome across the river.
The Atomic Bomb Dome
The Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall, designed by the Czech architect Jan Letzel and completed in 1915, stood some 160 metres from the hypocentre and was one of the few buildings left standing. Its skeleton has been preserved as it was found, and it was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1996.
The Peace Memorial Museum
Opened in 1955 and renewed in 2019, the museum sets out the city before the bomb, the day itself and the years that followed, through the belongings of the victims, the testimony of survivors and the science of the weapon. It asks for two hours at least, and it is best seen with a guide who can give it context.
The Cenotaph and the Flame of Peace
A saddle-shaped arch of concrete shelters a stone chest with the names of everyone known to have died from the bomb, a register that grows every year. Through the arch the Dome stands framed across the water, and before it the Flame of Peace, lit in 1964, will burn until the last nuclear weapon on earth is gone.
The Children's Peace Monument
A memorial to Sadako Sasaki, a child of Hiroshima who folded paper cranes in the hope of recovering from the illness the bomb left her with. Schoolchildren from across Japan and the world still send strings of cranes, and they hang in glass cases around the monument in thousands of colours.
Shukkei-en
The garden of the Asano lords, laid out from 1620 by the tea master Ueda Soko around a lake with islands, bridges and tea houses, its name meaning a shrunken view. It was badly damaged in 1945 and lovingly restored, and a ginkgo that survived the blast still grows beside the water.
Hiroshima Castle
The castle of Mori Terumoto, known as Carp Castle, was destroyed in 1945; its five-storey keep was rebuilt in 1958 and contains a museum of the castle town. The broad moats and stone walls are original, and the grounds make a pleasant walk from the Peace Park.
Hiroshima Museum of Art
A round gallery in Chuo Park with a collection of French painting from Delacroix and the Impressionists to Picasso, alongside Japanese works in the Western manner of the Meiji era and after.
Saijo, the sake town
In Higashi-Hiroshima, half an hour east by train, seven breweries stand within a few minutes' walk of Saijo station, their red-brick chimneys rising over white-walled storehouses. With Nada in Kobe and Fushimi in Kyoto it is counted among the three great sake towns of Japan.
Okonomimura
A building in the Shintenchi district given over to some two dozen small okonomiyaki counters, each with its own griddle. The Hiroshima style is layered rather than mixed: batter, cabbage, noodles, pork and egg, built up and turned on the hotplate before you.
Mitaki-dera
A Shingon temple in the wooded hills north of the centre, with three waterfalls, mossy stone Buddhas and a vermilion pagoda brought here from Wakayama. It is a short drive from the city and a quiet counterweight to the Peace Park.
Kintaikyo Bridge, Iwakuni
Forty minutes west, in Yamaguchi Prefecture, five wooden arches cross the Nishiki River beneath a castle on its hill. The bridge was first built in 1673 and has been rebuilt by carpenters ever since in the old manner, without nails.
experiences
The best of Hiroshima
The Peace Park with a guide
A morning at the Peace Memorial Park and Museum with a guide who knows its history and its witnesses, taken slowly, with time to sit by the river afterwards. It is among the most affecting visits of any journey through Japan.
Oysters of the bay
Hiroshima Bay farms more of Japan's oysters than anywhere else, on rafts you can see from the shore. They are served raw, grilled in the shell, fried in breadcrumbs or cooked into rice, and a dinner built around them is one of the pleasures of the city.
A morning among the Saijo breweries
A tasting at the Saijo breweries, with time in the storehouses to see how the soft water of the hills and the rice of the region make the gentle, fragrant sake for which the town is known.
The garden at an easy pace
An hour in Shukkei-en with a tea house to yourselves, matcha and a seasonal sweet brought to you beside the lake, before lunch in the city.
To Miyajima by water
A private boat from the Peace Park down the river and out across the bay to Miyajima, so that the great torii rises ahead of you out of the sea.
plan your visit
Hiroshima on a journey through Japan
- How long to stay
- Two nights lets you give a full day to Hiroshima and another to Miyajima; three adds Saijo or Iwakuni, or a day on the Inland Sea.
- Getting there
- By Shinkansen from Shin-Osaka in about ninety minutes, from Kyoto in about one hour forty and from Tokyo in about four hours on the Nozomi. Hiroshima Airport, with flights from Tokyo Haneda of about ninety minutes, is some fifty minutes from the city by car.
where to stay
Luxury hotels and ryokan in Hiroshima
Hiroshima's best hotels are city hotels, and the choice is between the station and the centre. At the station, the hotel of The Private Collection's Hiroshima and Miyajima extension is joined to Hiroshima Station itself, so arriving and leaving take a few steps, and the Peace Park is a short drive away. The hotels near the Peace Park and along the rivers put the memorials, Shukkei-en and the evening streets of Hondori within walking distance.
Many guests stay one night in Hiroshima and a second on Miyajima itself, where traditional ryokan stand in the maples behind the shrine and the island grows quiet once the last day visitors have taken the ferry home.
journeys
Tours of Japan that include Hiroshima
Open a journey below for its route, its dates and its price. On dates of your own, a Custom Tour of Japan can bring you here and anywhere else in Japan you would like to go.
questions
Hiroshima: questions answered
How many days do you need in Hiroshima?
Two days is right for most journeys: one for the Peace Memorial Park, the museum and Shukkei-en, and one for Miyajima. A third day adds the sake town of Saijo, Iwakuni's Kintaikyo Bridge or the islands of the Inland Sea.
How do you get from Kyoto or Osaka to Hiroshima?
By the San'yo Shinkansen, about ninety minutes from Shin-Osaka and about one hour forty from Kyoto, many trains running through without a change. On our journeys a car meets you at Hiroshima Station.
Is Hiroshima worth visiting?
Yes. The Peace Memorial Park and Museum are among the most important places to visit in Japan, and with Miyajima an hour away and one of Japan's great food cities around them, Hiroshima repays two days well.
How long should you allow for the Peace Memorial Museum?
Allow two hours for the museum and another hour for the park and its memorials. A guide makes a great difference, giving the exhibits context and the time to understand them.
Is it appropriate to visit Hiroshima as a tourist?
Yes, and the city hopes that people will come. Hiroshima has made its history a message of peace to the world, and a respectful visit to the park and museum is exactly what it asks.
Can you visit Hiroshima and Miyajima in one day?
You can, but it is a long day, and both places deserve more. Two days, or a night in each, lets you see the Peace Park slowly and Miyajima in its quiet evening hours.
What food is Hiroshima known for?
Oysters from Hiroshima Bay, and Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki, layered with noodles and cabbage on the griddle. The city is also close to Saijo, one of the three great sake towns of Japan.
Which Luxury Japan Travel journeys include Hiroshima?
The Classic Cherry Blossom Tour of Japan visits Hiroshima for the day. On dates of your own, a Custom Tour of Japan can include Hiroshima too.
Can Hiroshima be part of a private tour of Japan?
Yes. The Custom Tour of Japan is created around your party alone, on your dates, with your own Tour Director, and it can go anywhere in the country, Hiroshima included. If you would rather travel independently, the Expert Japan Itinerary plans every day for you.
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Hiroshima, planned for you.
Tell us when you would like to travel and what draws you to Hiroshima, and we will answer with the journey that suits you best: one of our published tours, a journey of The Private Collection, or a Custom Tour of Japan created around your party alone.