Hiroshima carries the weight of history with extraordinary grace. The Peace Memorial Museum and the skeletal Atomic Bomb Dome are among the most important — and moving — historical sites in the world. But Hiroshima is also a vibrant, forward-looking city with excellent food, a walkable riverfront, and one of Japan's greatest natural and cultural icons just a ferry ride away: Miyajima Island. This guide covers everything worth doing in Hiroshima, from the essential to the overlooked.
Things to Do in Hiroshima: The Essential Experiences
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum
The single most important thing to do in Hiroshima — and one of the most powerful museum experiences anywhere in the world. The museum documents the events of August 6, 1945 and their aftermath through personal objects, survivor testimonies, photographs, and scientific documentation. Allow 2–3 hours. Go with an open mind and leave your phone in your pocket — this is a space for reflection, not content creation.
The museum was comprehensively renovated in 2019; the rebuilt East Building houses new exhibits with exceptional clarity and emotional honesty. Admission is ¥200 — one of the most underpriced entry fees in Japan.
Atomic Bomb Dome (Genbaku Domu)
The only building left standing near the hypocenter of the August 6 bomb — preserved exactly as it was in the immediate aftermath, its iron dome skeleton exposed against the sky. The Dome sits on the Ota River directly opposite the Peace Memorial Park, visible from the Aioi Bridge. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the most recognizable image of Hiroshima. Visit at dusk when the light is soft and the crowds thin.
Peace Memorial Park
The park surrounding the museum and dome contains several important memorials worth time:
- Children's Peace Monument: Dedicated to Sadako Sasaki, a 12-year-old survivor who died of leukemia and folded 1,000 paper cranes hoping to recover. Surrounding the statue are thousands of colourful origami cranes sent from around the world each year.
- Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims: An arch framing the Atomic Bomb Dome in the distance — a deliberate alignment designed so that the dead may look through to the Dome and find peace.
- Flame of Peace: A flame that has burned continuously since 1964, pledged to burn until all nuclear weapons on earth are eliminated.
Miyajima Island — The Floating Torii Gate
Miyajima is one of Japan's three most scenic views — and its floating torii gate (the vermillion O-torii of Itsukushima Shrine) is one of the most recognizable images in the country. At high tide, the gate appears to float on the sea; at low tide you can walk to its base. The ferry from Hiroshima takes 25 minutes and runs frequently throughout the day.
What to do on Miyajima:
- Itsukushima Shrine: The entire shrine complex is built over the water — walkways, stages, and pagodas all supported on stilts above the tidal bay. One of Japan's most extraordinary architectural achievements. Visit at high tide for the full effect.
- Momijidani Park: A valley of maple trees behind the shrine that turns intensely red in mid-November — among Japan's finest autumn foliage spots. The name literally means "maple valley."
- Mt. Misen: Hike or take the ropeway to Miyajima's highest peak for sweeping views over the Seto Inland Sea and the islands of western Japan. Allow 3–4 hours for the full hike via the Daisho-in Temple route.
- Wild deer: Sacred deer roam freely across the island — they're bold, photogenic, and will eat your map if you're not paying attention.
- Momiji manju: Miyajima's signature sweet — maple-leaf-shaped cakes filled with red bean paste, custard, or chocolate. Buy them hot from the griddle at one of the island's many shops.
Timing advice: Arrive on Miyajima by 8am to beat the day-tripper crowds from Hiroshima. Stay overnight for the extraordinary experience of the island after all tour groups have left — the deer wander the empty streets and the shrine is lit at night.
Best Things to Do in Hiroshima: Food & Local Culture
Hiroshima-Style Okonomiyaki
This is not a side note — it's a reason to come to Hiroshima. Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki is fundamentally different from the Osaka version: layers are built separately (cabbage, noodles, pork, egg) on a flat iron griddle, not mixed together. The result is crispier, more textured, and most Hiroshima locals believe, far superior. Okonomimura — a six-floor building near the Peace Park housing over 30 okonomiyaki restaurants — is the best place to try it. Each restaurant on each floor is tiny, cash-only, and run by the same family for decades.
Hiroshima Oysters
Hiroshima Prefecture produces over 60% of Japan's oysters. They're available everywhere in the city from October to March: grilled on the half-shell, baked with cheese, fried as kaki-furai (breaded and deep-fried), and in oyster rice (kakimeshi). Kanawa — a restaurant on a boat moored in the river — is Hiroshima's most famous oyster destination.
Shukkei-en Garden
A miniature landscape garden from 1620, with a central pond meant to evoke the scenic Xiling Gorge of China in miniature — islands, bridges, and tea houses arranged around the water. Largely destroyed by the 1945 bomb and beautifully rebuilt, it's one of Hiroshima's most tranquil spots and a short walk from the Peace Park.
Hiroshima Castle
Originally built in 1589 and destroyed in 1945, Hiroshima Castle was rebuilt in 1958 and now houses a museum covering the feudal history of the Chugoku region. The castle grounds and moat are pleasant for walking; the view from the top floor covers central Hiroshima. Less impressive than Himeji or Matsuyama, but worth an hour alongside the Peace Park.
Day Trips from Hiroshima
- Onomichi: A hillside port town 1 hour east by train, famous for its temple walk (temple road connecting 25 temples on the hillside), its cat alley, and its ramen — Onomichi-style ramen with a rich chicken and pork broth. The starting point of the Shimanami Kaido cycling route across the Seto Inland Sea.
- Himeji (1.5 hours by Shinkansen): Japan's most perfectly preserved feudal castle — "White Heron Castle" — is one of the country's most rewarding UNESCO sites. Can be combined with Hiroshima in a day with an early start.
- Iwakuni: A small town 40 minutes west of Hiroshima with the extraordinary Kintaikyo Bridge — a five-arch wooden bridge reconstructed to its 1673 design, spanning the Nishiki River beneath Iwakuni Castle.