Hiroshima

A-Bomb Dome

原爆ドーム Genbaku Dōmu

The skeletal remains of the dome are the most recognizable symbol of the atomic bombing in Hiroshima. In another lifetime, the building was one of the city's best-known sights for an entirely different reason; designed by Czech architect Jan Letzel in 1915, the Hiroshima Prefectural Commercial Exhibition Hall (and its fanciful green dome) had a bold European style in a grimy, crowded city with few modern flourishes. Because the explosion took place almost directly above the building, the walls remained largely intact, even as the dome shattered and the people inside were killed by the heat of the blast. Initially, as the city rebuilt, it was left alone simply because it was more difficult to demolish than other remains in the area; gradually, the A-Bomb Dome became the symbol it is today. The "Hiroshima Peace Memorial" was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1996 amid some controversy — the United States and China both voted against the nomination for reasons related to the war. Today, the benches around the Dome are a favorite spot for Hiroshima natives to read, eat lunch, or simply relax.

Hiroshima Castle

広島城 Hiroshima-jō

As of 22 March 2026, the castle is closed due to structural deterioration, although the grounds are open are free to roam around. The original Carp Castle (Rijō) was built in the 1590s by Hideyoshi's warlord Terumoto Mōri, predating the city itself. It was destroyed by the atomic bomb, by which time it was serving as a military headquarters, and reconstructed in using modern materials in 1958. Some of the original stone foundations can still be seen. Today, the castle grounds are a nice place for a walk, and definitely Hiroshima's favorite place for hanami (cherry blossom parties), with more than 350 sakura trees. The five-story castle museum is an attractive reconstruction of the 16th century donjon, with interesting relics and armor to see (and try on), as well as some informative displays about the history of the castle and the city. The view from the top is worth the entrance fee all by itself. Photography is allowed for self-use only. Gift shop sells various Warring States period-related goods, while the stamp-collecting area for Japanese Top 100 Castles is outside the castle. No elevators are available - visitors will be walking the five stories by stairs.

Closed · opens 9 am·Prior to its 2026 closure, the price was ¥370 adults and ¥180 children · Free entry · Heritage listed · Wheelchair accessible

Children's Peace Monument

(原爆の子の像 Genbaku no ko no zō

Perennially draped in thousands of origami paper cranes folded by schoolchildren across Japan in the memory of the young bomb victim Sadako Sasaki (see Literature). You can bring your own origami cranes and donate them to the memorial.

Shukkeien

縮景園

While it's not one of Japan's Top 3, this compact and beautifully landscaped Japanese garden is well worth a visit, and an ideal place to decompress from the atomic bomb sites. Despite high-rises peeping over the trees, Shukkeien can feel like an entirely different world, with little paths crossing ponds on bridges and winding their way around graceful teahouses and waterfalls. Visitors can feed the fish and turtles occasionally swimming near the paths. It's directly behind the Prefectural Art Museum, and combined admission tickets are available.

Daily 09:00-17:00, April to 18:00·¥250 · Built 1940

Hiroshima Prefectural Museum of Art

広島県立美術館

Has a good permanent collection of modern European art, including major works by Dali and Magritte, and a few modern Japanese artists as well. Special exhibitions are of a generally high quality, ranging from Persian carpets to The Legend of Ultraman. It's located in front of Shukkeien.

Tue-Sun 09:00-17:00, Sat to 19:00·¥500 adults, ¥300 for college students, children free · Wheelchair accessible

Hiroshima Museum of Art

ひろしま美術館

Established by the Hiroshima Bank in 1978. The permanent collection covers European art from late Romanticism to early Picasso, including a couple of Japanese painters who painted in Western styles. There's at least one painting by every famous artist of the period, but no major works by any of them.

Daily 09:00-17:00·¥1000 adults, ¥500 teens, ¥200 children

Peace Memorial Museum

平和記念資料館 Heiwa Kinen Shiryōkan

This heart-wrenching museum documents the atomic bomb and its aftermath, from scale models of the city "before" and "after" to melted tricycles and other displays and artifacts related to the blast. Some are extremely graphic, evocative, and quite disturbing. The rest of the museum describes the post-war struggles of the hibakusha and an appeal for the abolition of nuclear weapons in the world today. Be warned: a visit here, while absolutely worthwhile, will ruin your day. Allow plenty of time afterward to decompress.

Closed · opens 8:30 am·Adults ¥200, high school students ¥100, children free. Audio guide ¥200

Hiroshima Sanfrecce Soccer

Sanfrecce (Japanese/Italian for "three arrows", from a Japanese folk tale) are Hiroshima's entry in the J-League, although they date back to 1938 as a semi-pro team. Though coming off consecutive J-League championships, Sanfrecce struggle for attention in Carp-town, but the fans are great.

Tickets are available at most convenience stores. Reserved seats ¥3000-4500 in advance, ¥500 more at the stadium; unreserved ¥2300 in advance, ¥300 more at the stadium

Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art

広島市現代美術館

Probably the most deserving of a visit among Hiroshima's art museums. There are a few famous Western names in its collection, including Andy Warhol and Frank Stella, but the real focus is on interesting modern Japanese artists working in their own styles, and the exhibition designers make creative use of the museum space. Special exhibitions cost extra. There is a sculpture garden outside that can be visited for free, and a decent city-view from the plaza near the museum's front steps.

Tue-Sun 10:00-17:00·¥360 adults, ¥270 college students, and ¥170 for other students · Wi-Fi

Hypocenter

One block east of the A-Bomb Dome (outside Shima Clinic) is a plaque which marks the exact point above which the bomb exploded.

Hiroshima Toyo Carp Baseball

The much-beloved and much-bemoaned Carp are Hiroshima's entry in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. After more than fifty years in a stadium across the street from the Peace Park, the Carp moved to the new Mazda Zoom Zoom Stadium in 2009. While the team doesn't win much, the enthusiasm of the fans can hardly be faulted, and Hiroshima is as good a place as any to witness the fervor of Japanese baseball fandom. Tickets range from ¥1800 to ¥3500. Ask for the Carp Performance (カープ パフォーマンス) tickets — that's where the drums, chants, and excitement are. Tickets are sold at the stadium starting at 10:00, the "Green Window" at JR Hiroshima Station, and a number of convenience stores.

Hiroshima Children's Museum

広島市こども文化科学館

Great fun for kids, with hand-on science exhibits and a planetarium on the top floor. There's also a library with a few shelves of English language books.

Tue-Sun 09:00-17:00·¥500 adults, ¥250 children

Okonomi-mura

お好み村

Three floors packed with no less than 27 okonomiyaki shops. This, indeed, is Hiroshima culinary nirvana. They all serve beer and okonomiyaki with some variations (kimchi, oysters, etc.), and they'll all start clamoring for your business as soon as you walk through the door. It's right behind PARCO, with a distinctive 'Okonomi-mura' arch out front.

The shops keep their own hours, but most will be open around 11:00, and a few stay open until 02:00-03:00·Figure on ¥700-1500 for a meal

Hijiyama Park

比治山公園

A huge park to the south of JR Hiroshima Station, between two branches of the river. (Follow Ekimae-dori from the station to the southeast, and you'll walk directly into it.) There are the usual areas for sitting in the sun (and rather a lot of stray cats), but much of the park remains refreshingly undeveloped forest, save for a futuristic tunnel to SATY, a neighboring shopping complex and movie theater.

71 m high

Fukuro-machi Elementary School Museum

袋町小学校平和資料館

Like Honkawa, part of the original school building that remained standing after the atomic bomb has been converted into a museum. In the days after the explosion, survivors used the school's chalk to leave messages for lost friends and family members on its blackened walls.

Daily 09:00-17:00·Free

Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims

The Peace Memorial Hall is dedicated to collecting names and photographs of people who died in the blast. The entrance of the memorial hall leads downward to a quiet hall for contemplation, and then back up again to a set of kiosks with compelling stories and recollections from survivors (in English and Japanese). Like the Cenotaph and the Peace Memorial Museum, it was designed by architect Kenzo Tange.

Closed · opens 8:30 am·Free

Hiroshima City Manga Library

広島市立まんが図書館

Around the corner from the Museum of Contemporary Art (below). The vast majority of the manga are in Japanese, of course, but they do have a selection of Western superhero comics.

Tue-Sun 10:00-17:00·Free · Wi-Fi

Numaji Transportation Museum

ヌマジ交通ミュージアム

Changed names from Hiroshima City Transportation Museum by a naming rights deal. Located on the outskirts of the city, the Transportation Museum has exhibits and interactive games about planes, trains, ships, and cars of the past, present, and future — and a transit nerd's treasure trove of details about the history and model numbers of Hiroshima's streetcars. (Tram #654, which remained in service after the atomic blast, is on display.) Outside, behind the museum, there is a track with odd bicycles to ride. It's great fun for children.

Tue-Sun 09:00-17:00·Free on the first floor, elsewhere ¥500 adults, ¥250 children

Gokoku Shrine

護国神社 Gokoku-jinja

Located on the castle grounds, this concrete shrine has great significance to locals, having been rebuilt after the atomic blast and now the center for most annual Shinto traditions in the city. But other than a historical marker, there's not much to see for travelers, other than festivals (especially New Year's Eve).

Mitaki-dera

三瀧寺

It was founded in 809 AD. Mitaki-dera is a tranquil, lovely temple to the west of Hiroshima, known for its three waterfalls, which supply the water for the annual Peace Memorial Ceremony (see Festivals), as well as its gorgeous autumn colors and fascinating statues. The tahoto (treasure pagoda) was moved here from Wakayama in 1951 and consecrated in memory of the victims of the atomic bomb. From JR Hiroshima Station, take the Kabe Line to JR Mitaki Station. It's a short walk and hike from there.

Free

Flower Festival

フラワーフェスティバル

This is Hiroshima's biggest festival, begun in 1975 to celebrate the Carp's first baseball championship. There are food vendors and things for sale, but live performances now dominate the program, with comedians and J-pop bands on stages along Heiwa-o-dori. It's the smaller performances that make the Flower Festival worthwhile, though, particularly in the stalls near Jizo-dori, where you might stumble across a phenomenal Okinawan band or a local jazz combo.

First weekend of May·Free

Chuo Park

中央公園

A big, sprawling green space in the middle of the city. Broadly defined, the park grounds include many of the attractions below, including the castle and the Carp's old baseball stadium (scheduled for demolition). But Chuo Park is worthy of note in its own right, with nice, long walking paths and athletic fields — there are quite a lot of open-invitation soccer, football, and ultimate frisbee games that are regularly held here, so don't be shy about showing up with athletic shoes and seeing if anyone needs an extra.

International Conference Center

At the south end of the Peace Park, this complex of buildings has an International Exchange Lounge with English-language publications and city information; it also has the Restaurant Serenade (10:00-19:00).

Daily 09:00-21:00

Honkawa Elementary School Peace Museum

本川小学校平和資料館

Of the more than 400 students and teachers who were in the school when the bomb exploded, only one student and one teacher survived. After a new school was built, this section of the original structure was kept as a museum, housing a small collection of photos and artifacts.

Open during school hours·Free

Caffe Ponte

Italian restaurant and cafe just next to Peace Memorial Park. Indoor seating for up to 30, but when the weather is not too hot or too cold there's a nice view of the Park and Motoyasu river outside on the terrace. Pasta and Drink set for ¥1280 is the most popular choice, but also offers 5-course dinners and wide selection of Italian food into the late evening. Menus in English, and there's usually some English speaking staff on hand.

Mon-Fri 10:00-22:00, Sat Sun 08:00-22:00

Graffity Mexican Diner

Yes - good Mexican food does exist in Japan. The owner and chef worked in San Diego for many years, and the food is tasty, traditional mixed with experimental, and they even have hot sauces. Open for lunch and dinner, English spoken. Large groups welcome, call ahead.

Closed · opens 11:30 am·¥200-2500

Kanawa (Oyster Boat)

かなわ

Docked just south of the Peace Park, this floating restaurant offers some of the tastiest oysters in Hiroshima, along with lovely traditional decor and nice river views (more so at night). There's plenty of room aboard, but it does fill up, so reservations are suggested.

Mon-Sat 11:00-14:00, 17:00-21:00; Sun to 20:30·Lunch sets from ¥3100; dinner ¥7000–15,000, not including drinks

Kemby's

A big, friendly bar that's a favorite with locals for watching major sporting events. There's plenty of seating, and pool & darts as well. The English menu offers enough food (mostly Italian and Mexican) to make this a valid dinner spot.

Sun-Thu 18:00-01:00, Fri Sat 18:00-02:00

Otis!

Serving Tex-Mex in Hiroshima for more than twenty years, Otis! is the most vegetarian/vegan/organic-friendly restaurant in town, with items clearly marked on their English menu. In addition to tacos, burritos, enchiladas, and nachos, they have a varied of made-from-scratch bakery items including muffins, brownies, and rye bread, as well as a handful of other items not easy to find in Japan such as jambalaya and lentil curry with brown rice. The atmosphere is more that of a small live house or indie cafe than a restaurant, with the walls covered in graffiti messages from passing musicians, and the corners stacked with audio equipment and unusual stringed instruments-- they also have a fairly busy schedule of live music, both Japanese and international.

Mon-Sat 12:00-23:00, Sun 17:00-23:00·Most meals ¥700-1200, shows ¥2300-4500 including a drink

Roopali

ルーパリ

Good food on the quieter Shinkansen side of JR Hiroshima station. A wide range of curries are on offer, and there is plenty to eat for vegetarians. The thali sets are good and filling. Comprehensive English menus are available, and it's kid-friendly to boot. If you're just arriving in Hiroshima on an empty stomach, you can't do much better than this.

Mon-Sat 11:30-14:30, 17:00-21:30; Sun 11:30-21:30·Sets from ¥2000