By rail
Hiroshima station, ~1.5 h by shinkansen from Osaka
East Asia · Japan
Hiroshima, Japan
A city of peace and the floating torii
Getting there
By air
Hiroshima (HIJ), ~50 km
Best time to visit
March to May and October to November — mild and dry
Don't miss
Peace Memorial Park
The Atomic Bomb Dome
Itsukushima Shrine
Hiroshima Castle
Things to do
The Peace Memorial Museum and Park
The ferry to Miyajima
Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki
Where to eat
Sources: Photo: JordyMeow · CC BY-SA 3.0
What to pack
Walking shoes
A quieter corner
The summit of Mount Misen on Miyajima
Questions travellers ask
How long is the train from Osaka to Hiroshima?
About 1.5 hours by shinkansen to Hiroshima station. Hiroshima's airport (HIJ) is roughly 50 km from the city.
What are the key sights in Hiroshima?
The Peace Memorial Museum and Park, the Atomic Bomb Dome and Hiroshima Castle, plus Itsukushima Shrine and the ferry to Miyajima.
What local food should I try in Hiroshima?
Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki, Miyajima oysters and momiji manju.
What's a less obvious highlight near Hiroshima?
The summit of Mount Misen on Miyajima — worth the extra time once you've taken the ferry over.
About Hiroshima
- Coastal
- Riverside
Where it is
Hiroshima, capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, spreads across the delta of the Ota River on Hiroshima Bay, an arm of the Seto Inland Sea in western Honshu, Japan, with the shrine island of Miyajima across the bay.
History
Hiroshima was founded in 1589 by the warlord Mori Terumoto, who built his castle on the delta, and it grew into a castle town and later a major military and industrial centre. On 6 August 1945 it became the first city struck by an atomic bomb, which killed tens of thousands of people at once and destroyed most of the city. It was rebuilt as a Peace Memorial City under a law passed in 1949.
People
Hiroshima's people speak Japanese in the Hiroshima dialect. The city is home to the Hiroshima Toyo Carp baseball team and to okonomiyaki layered with noodles, and each 6 August paper lanterns carrying messages of peace are floated on the Motoyasu River.
Known for
- The Peace Memorial Park and Museum
- The Atomic Bomb Dome
- Hiroshima-style layered okonomiyaki
- Itsukushima Shrine's floating torii on Miyajima
- Oysters from Hiroshima Bay
Did you know?
The Atomic Bomb Dome, once the Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall, stood close to the hypocentre and is preserved as the blast left it; it was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996.
We haven't written a guide for this place yet — you can still plan a trip here.