Visit Hiroshima

The park covers the tip of Nakajima island, a former shopping district wiped out by the blast, which detonated at around 600 metres altitude close by. An axis links the museum, the cenotaph, the Flame of Peace and the Genbaku Dome across the Motoyasu river. Allow half a day including the museum, and come early in the morning: the place feels more contemplative before school groups arrive. It is the most powerful stop on any trip to Japan, not one to squeeze in between two trains.

A fifteen-minute walk north of the park, the castle area gathers the moats of the former Mōri fortress, founded in the late 16th century, and Shukkeien garden, laid out from 1620 around a pond dotted with islets and bridges. The keep, destroyed in 1945, was rebuilt in concrete in 1958. Allow two to three hours to combine the ramparts, the garden and the neighbouring prefectural art museum, a calm contrast with the Peace Park.

Just east of the park, the covered Hondōri arcade lines up shops and cafés for nearly 600 metres to the Hatchōbori department stores. To the south, Nagarekawa and Yagenbori pack bars, izakaya and late-night restaurants. It is the most convenient area to stay: everything is walkable, the tram reaches the station in about fifteen minutes and the evening starts two streets from the hotel. On Carp game days, from April to September, the whole city turns red and izakaya screen the match.

Miyajima, the common name for Itsukushima, is reached by JR train to Miyajimaguchi (about 25 minutes from Hiroshima station) and a 10-minute ferry, or by direct boat from the Peace Park. Visitors have paid a 100-yen entry tax since October 2023. Crowds peak between 10 am and 3 pm: spending a night in a ryokan on the island lets you see the shrine lit up and the streets empty. Check the tide times before going, as they change the look of the site completely.

Here, okonomiyaki is not mixed: a thin crêpe, a mound of cabbage, pork, soba or udon noodles and an egg are layered on the griddle, then topped with the sweet and savoury sauce. Counters number in the hundreds across the city, with a cluster around Shintenchi, and you often eat straight off the hot plate with a small spatula. Expect a 20 to 30-minute wait at well-known places in the evening. Grilled or fried oysters from the bay, served from October to March, and Miyajima's momiji manjū complete the picture.

Hiroshima is a handy starting point for the Inland Sea. Kure, a former major naval arsenal, is about 35 minutes away by train. Iwakuni and its Kintai bridge lie some fifty minutes west. Onomichi, a hillside town of temples about 1 hour 15 minutes east by train, is the start of the Shimanami Kaidō, a cycling route of around 70 km to Imabari on Shikoku island. To arrive or move on, the Nozomi shinkansen links Hiroshima to Osaka in about 1 hour 25 minutes.

Spring, from late March to mid-April, and autumn, from late October to late November when maples turn Miyajima's Momijidani valley red, are the best times. June and July bring the rainy season, August a humid heat often above 33 °C. On 6 August, the memorial ceremony and the evening lantern floating draw large crowds: book accommodation very early. Two nights in the city and one on Miyajima make for a comfortable pace.