Atomic Bomb Dome
Peace Park · 30 min
Take the tram to Genbaku Dome-mae and start here while the river is still and the groups have not arrived. Walk the whole way round the ruin, then cross the Motoyasu bridge into the park.
Hiroshima · Japan · 2 days
2 days in Hiroshima
Two days that give the Peace Park the quiet morning it needs, then the castle grounds, Shukkeien and the view from the Orizuru Tower at dusk, and a full day on Miyajima timed to the tide. A tram in the city, a train and a ferry to the island, and the rest on foot.
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Checked October 10, 2026. That’s the day we last confirmed the hours, prices and closed days.
- 2 days
- 16 stops
- 7 with a ticket
- from ¥7,000 a day
When to go
Late March to early April for cherry blossom along the rivers and in Shukkeien; mid to late November for maples in Momijidani on Miyajima. May and October are mild and the best months to climb Misen. August 6 is the Peace Memorial Ceremony: a solemn day, and the park is closed to casual visitors that morning. June is rainy season; July and August are hot and humid, with oyster season over.
Where to base yourself
Sleep between the Peace Park and Hatchobori: everything on day 1 is on foot from there and the Nagarekawa restaurants are a short walk. Around Hiroshima Station is practical for the shinkansen and the airport bus, 15 minutes from the Dome by tram. Staying on Miyajima for a night is the way to see the torii lit after the day boats leave, but it rules out a Hiroshima dinner.
Getting around
The Hiroden tram is a flat ¥240 anywhere in the city, tap an IC card on and off; the one-day pass is ¥700 and the one with the Miyajima ferry included is ¥1,000, visitor tax included, bought from the driver or at the station. The city center is walkable: Dome to the castle is 15 minutes, castle to Shukkeien 10. For Miyajima the JR Sanyo line reaches Miyajimaguchi in about 25 to 30 minutes for around ¥410, then a ¥200 ferry; the tram does the same run in about 70 minutes for ¥240.
Day 1
The Peace Park, the castle and the view at dusk
- FromYour hotel in Peace Park and Kamiya-cho
- 1
- 7 min · walk
- 2
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum
Peace Park · 90 min
¥200, open 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. most of the year; the 7:30 and 8 a.m. slots are web ticket only, sold up to 90 days ahead, and the quietest hour of the day. Give the east building's survivors' belongings the time, because it is not a museum to hurry.
¥200
- 5 min · walk
- 3
Children's Peace Monument and the cenotaph
Peace Park · 45 min
Sadako's statue under the cases of folded cranes, the Flame of Peace, and the cenotaph lined up on the Dome, all free. The Rest House by the bridge has maps, a cafe and a quiet basement that survived the blast.
- 14 min · walk
- 4
Okonomimura
Shintenchi · 60 min
Fifteen minutes east through Hondori to Shintenchi: three floors of about 25 griddle counters, each a different cook. Sit anywhere with a seat and order the standard with soba and a fried egg, and watch it built in layers.
- 16 min · walk
- 5
Hiroshima Castle grounds and Ninomaru
Motomachi · 60 min
Fifteen minutes north. The concrete keep closed for good in March 2026 over safety concerns, so walk the moat, the rebuilt Ninomaru gate and turret (free) and the eucalyptus that survived the bomb.
- 12 min · walk
- 6
Shukkeien
Kaminobori · 60 min
Ten minutes east of the castle: a 17th-century garden of miniature landscapes around a pond, a tea house and a bridge you cross in the middle of it. ¥350, and last entry is 30 minutes before closing.
¥350
- 21 min · walk
- 7
Orizuru Tower
Peace Park · 75 min
Back toward the Dome, 20 minutes on foot or any tram to Genbaku Dome-mae. ¥2,200 is a lot for a roof deck, but the open-air top looks straight down onto the Dome and the park, and ¥100 buys the paper to fold a crane; open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., last entry 5:30 p.m..
¥2,200
- 4 min · walk
- 8
Kakifune Kanawa, or okonomiyaki in Nagarekawa
Nagarekawa · 90 min
Kanawa is the oyster boat moored on the Motoyasu River five minutes from the Dome: raw, grilled, fried and in a hot pot, last orders 8 p.m., so book the TableCheck slot. Otherwise walk into Nagarekawa for a second okonomiyaki, where Hassho on Yagenbori is the famous one.
Day 2
Miyajima on the tide
- FromYour hotel in Peace Park and Kamiya-cho
- 1
To Miyajimaguchi and the ferry
Miyajimaguchi · 60 min
JR Sanyo line from Hiroshima Station, 25 to 30 minutes, then the JR ferry: ¥200 plus the ¥100 Miyajima visitor tax, ten minutes across, every 10 to 15 minutes. The alternative is the Aqua Net boat from the pier beside the Dome, 45 minutes straight to the island for ¥2,400 one way, booked by the day before.
¥710
- 2.1 km · transit or taxi
- 2
Itsukushima Shrine
Miyajima · 60 min
Ten minutes along the shore from the pier, past the deer; ¥300, open from 6:30 a.m.. Check the tide table before you leave the hotel, because the shrine floats when the water is above about 250 cm and you can walk to the torii below about 100 cm, so see one state now and the other this afternoon.
¥300
- 7 min · walk
- 3
Daishoin
Miyajima · 60 min
Five minutes uphill behind the shrine: the island's old Shingon temple, free, with 500 rakan statues in knitted hats on the slope and a cave of lanterns. The Daishoin trail to the Misen summit starts behind it if you would rather walk up, about 90 minutes of stone steps.
- 22 min · walk
- 4
Mount Misen by ropeway
Mount Misen · 150 min
Walk 15 minutes through Momijidani Park to the ropeway, or take the free shuttle; it is ¥2,000 return and runs 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.. From Shishiiwa it is about 30 minutes each way to the 535 m summit and the Reikado hall, so allow about an hour up top and carry water.
¥2,000
- 2.1 km · transit or taxi
- 5
Omotesando shopping street
Miyajima · 60 min
Lunch standing: grilled oysters by the pair from the stalls, a cone of fried oysters, then momiji manju, the maple-leaf cakes, hot off the molds at Yamadaya. Anago meshi, conger eel over rice, is the sit-down alternative; hold the food high, because the deer are patient and quick.
- 6 min · walk
- 6
The torii at the other tide
Miyajima · 45 min
Back along the shore for the second state of the water: out across the sand to touch the gate's legs if it is low, or the shrine floating with the deer in the shallows if it is high. The deer are wild and protected, so do not feed them, and keep maps and tickets out of reach.
- 2.0 km · transit or taxi
- 7
Ferry back
Miyajima · 60 min
JR boats run late into the evening, so there is no rush, but the Aqua Net's last boat to the Peace Park leaves at 5:30 p.m.. If you are staying for the lit torii, dinner on the island is early, as most places close by 6 or 7 p.m..
¥200
- 17 km · transit or taxi
- 8
Mitchan Sohonten, Hatchobori
Hatchobori · 90 min
Back by tram to Hatchobori for a last okonomiyaki at the shop that claims to have started it in 1950; the special with squid tempura, or the oyster version in season. Walk-ins, with a short line.
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The practical bits
From the airport
From Kyoto, the Nozomi shinkansen reaches Hiroshima in about 1 hour 40 for around ¥10,800 unreserved, roughly ¥12,000 reserved; from Shin-Osaka it is about 80 minutes for around ¥9,900 unreserved, ¥11,000 reserved. Nozomi is not covered by the nationwide JR Pass without the supplement, but the Sakura and Hikari are, 10 to 20 minutes slower. From Hiroshima Airport, the limousine bus to Hiroshima Station takes 45 to 50 minutes for ¥1,500 and continues to the Bus Centre by the Peace Park in about 55; tap a contactless card as you board. There is no train from the airport.
What a day costs
About ¥7,000 to ¥10,000 a day per person for meals, tickets and transit. Day 1 is cheap in tickets (¥200 museum, ¥350 garden) unless you add the ¥2,200 tower; day 2 costs more, with the ropeway at ¥2,000 and the ferries, and ¥4,400 extra if you take the direct boat both ways. An okonomiyaki is around ¥1,000 to ¥1,500; a Kanawa oyster course runs to several thousand yen.
Where to stay
Got a day to spare?
Worth knowing
- Buy the museum's web ticket as soon as your dates are fixed (90 days out) and take the 7:30 or 8 a.m. slot. Those hours are reservation only and the rooms are nearly empty; the normal hours (8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.) sell tickets at the door, but the same-day line can reach an hour.
- Read the Miyajima tide table before day 2 and build the day around it: the torii floats above about 250 cm and is walkable below about 100 cm, roughly six hours apart, so a morning and an afternoon visit gets you both.
- Hiroshima Castle's keep closed in March 2026 and will not reopen; the grounds and Ninomaru are free. Do not pay for a tour that still lists climbing it.
- The ¥100 Miyajima visitor tax is charged on the outbound ferry whichever boat you take; the ¥1,000 Hiroden tram-and-ferry day pass includes it but only covers the Matsudai ferry, not the JR one or the Aqua Net boat.
- Oyster season is October to March. In summer the Miyajima stalls still grill them but they are smaller and farmed elsewhere; order anago meshi instead.
Things you can ask once it’s in the app
Plans change. Ask Chat and it proposes a reshuffled day you can apply, or just answers the question.
What time is low tide at Miyajima on day 2, and should the shrine go in the afternoon?The museum's early slots are sold out, what is the quietest time to walk up?Is the Aqua Net boat worth ¥2,400 over the JR ferry with a JR Pass?We have a 6-year-old, can she do the Misen climb from the ropeway?Can we keep the Orizuru Tower on a rainy day 1 if the clouds elevator?
Questions
Is two days enough for Hiroshima?
Yes, if one day is the city and one is Miyajima. The Peace Park alone takes a morning done properly. A third day buys Onomichi and the start of the Shimanami Kaido, or a slower Miyajima with a night on the island.
Do I need to book the Peace Memorial Museum?
Not for normal hours (8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.), when tickets are sold at the door, but the same-day line can reach an hour in spring and fall. The 7:30 and 8 a.m. morning slots and the evening slots are web ticket only, sold up to 90 days ahead on the museum's site. Book one and you skip the line and the crowd.
Which day works in the rain?
Day 1: the museum is a long indoor morning and Okonomimura is under a roof; swap Shukkeien for the Prefectural Art Museum next door and keep the tower for a break in the clouds. The ropeway shuts in strong wind, so on a wet Miyajima day stay at the shrine; Waystop's Chat can build a rain plan you switch to from the day's menu.
JR ferry, tram and ferry, or the direct boat to Miyajima?
With a JR Pass, the JR train and ferry cost only the ¥100 tax. Without one the train and ferry is about ¥710 each way and 45 minutes; the ¥1,000 Hiroden day pass is slower (70 minutes on the tram) but covers the Matsudai ferry and tax. The Aqua Net boat from the Peace Park is ¥2,400 one way, 45 minutes dock to dock, and saves the walk to the station; good one way if you are staying by the Dome.
Before you go
Nearby
Same country first, then the cities people tend to pair with Hiroshima. Want two or three in one go? String them together in the trip builder.
Your version
Now make it fit your trip.
Add your dates, your hotel and who’s coming, then ask Chat to change anything: it proposes the edit and you tap Apply. Want a long lunch instead of a museum? Just ask. Every place is checked against Google Maps before it lands on your day, and Chat can tell you when to leave for the next stop. Going on to another city? Build a multi-city trip.