When planning our trip to Japan, Hiroshima was at the top of my bucket list. Having studied history at university, ‘Dark Tourism’ might not be for everyone, but I am always fascinated to visit places where things happened which shape the world we live in today. Even if those things were terrible like in Auschwitz or Chernobyl or indeed Hiroshima. If we don’t learn from the past, how will we prevent atrocities in the future?

We spent two days in Hiroshima, one visiting the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and the second on a day trip the island of Miyajima, famous for its torii gate in the sea.

Getting There

Hiroshima is 500 miles south west of Tokyo, and can be reached by bullet train, the Tokaido-Sanyo Shinkansen, in under 4 hours (under 2 hours from Kyoto or Osaka). We picked up the bullet train in Okayama and continued, also on the Tokaido-Sanyo Shinkansen to Fukuoka, which is a further hour to the south west.

Getting Around

Hiroshima’s main attraction is the Peace Memorial Park. We stayed close by and mostly walked.

There are tourist loops buses; the Meipuru-pu Sightseeing Loop Bus, which link the city’s attractions. There are three routes; Orange, Green and Lemon. Note that the Lemon route is often depicted in purple. A day ticket costs Y400. If you have a JR Pass, the tourist bus in included. The current timetable and route map can be found here.

There are also city loop buses, which follow a similar route to the tourist buses. They run more frequently, but there is no information in English, so you need to know where to get off. A ticket costs Y220. I don’t think these are included in the JR Pass, but we caught one by accident and the driver accepted our pass.

To get to Miyajima, you can get a boat direct from the Peace Park. The journey takes 45 minutes and a return ticket costs Y4000. The cheaper (free) alternative is to take a train to Miyajima Station and catch the ferry. There are two ferry companies adjacent to each other. One is run by JR and is included in the JR Pass. Otherwise, the price is Y180 each way. Ferries run every 5-10 minutes and the crossing takes around 10 minutes.

Where we stayed

We stayed at the Dormy Inn Hiroshima, which is a 6 minute walk to the Peace Memorial Park. It’s a budget hotel. The rooms are small and the bathroom is a plastic cell. But it is very conveniently located and was perfectly adequate for our needs. It has a nice public bath on the top floor and a complimentary shuttle bus to the station.

Itinerary

Day 1	Train to Hiroshima Accommodation – Dormy Inn x 2 Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum National Peace Memorial Hall Atomic Bomb Dome Dinner at Coco Ichibanya
Day 2	Ferry to Miyajima Miyajima Island Itsukushima Shrine Ometesando Shopping Street Lunch at Okonomimura Dormy Inn Public Paths

Attractions

1	Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park
2	Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum
3	National Peace Memorial Hall
4	Atomic Bomb Dome
5	Miyajima Island
6	Itsukushima Shrine
7	Ometesando Shopping Street
8	Dinner at Okonomimura

Day 1

Train to Hiroshima

We caught the Bullet Train from Okayama to Hiroshima. The 100 mile journey takes just 40 minutes.

Dormy Inn Hiroshima

We reached Hiroshima and checked in to our home for the next two nights; Dormy Inn Hiroshima. It’s rather dated. The room is tiny and stuffed with useless gadgets, but there isn’t anything useful like a USB charging point.

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park

To most people, Hiroshima means one thing. The city’s name will forever evoke images of 8.15 am on 6 August 1945, when Hiroshima became the target of the world’s first atomic bomb attack. The bomb released by the US Enola Gay that day killed 80,000 people (primarily civilians) instantly and another 130,000 later in the ensuing fires and from radiation exposure. Hiroshima’s Peace Memorial Park is a poignant reminder of that awful day.

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park is a located close to where the atomic bomb was dropped. It contains a museum plus several memorials amongst spaces for reflection. A path through the middle runs from the museum, via the Cenotaph and the Flame of Peace, to the Atomic Bomb Dome across the river – the park was planned so that these elements form a straight line.

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum

The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum tells the story of the the attack on Hiroshima and its aftermath. It starts with a model reconstruction of the blast. Then you enter a series of black, dimly lit rooms full of items damaged by the blast and a lot of graphic, truly grim pictures; a mixture of photos and drawings of the horror caused by the bomb. The east building tells the story of the city of Hiroshima and the history of the development of nuclear weapons.

While I think it’s important that we learn about these events, it is a truly harrowing experience. I’m not going to include anything too graphic, but believe me, there are plenty of images of dead and dying people on display.

The museum is open daily from 8.30 until at least 5 pm (longer in summer). Entry costs Y200.

Cenotaph

Along the path from the museum is a concrete arch which contains the names of all the known victims of the bomb. Look through it and you will see the the Atomic Bomb Dome in the background.

Flame of Peace

Next you come to the Flame of Peace, which will burn until all the world’s nuclear weapons are destroyed.

Children’s Peace Monument

The Children’s Peace Monument remembers the thousands of children killed by the bomb. As if that wasn’t tragic enough, many children had been mobilised to help with tasks around the city, so died away from their families, with their parents not knowing what happened to them.

The monument was inspired by Sadako Sasaki, who was only 2 years old in 1945. Aged 11, she developed leukaemia and decided to fold paper cranes, believing that if she folded 1000, she would recover. Unfortunately, she died before reaching this goal, but her classmates folded the rest. Surrounding the monument are thousands of paper cranes sent by children from all over the world.

Atomic Bomb Memorial Mound

This mound contains the ashes of thousands of unidentified victims of the bomb.

National Peace Memorial Hall

This circular hall, which you enter via a spiralling slope, is intended as a place of contemplation. On the walls is a panorama of the city, whilst in the centre is a fountain which represents the moment the bomb was dropped, while the water offers relief to the victims.

An adjoining room has a large screen displaying names and photographs of those who perished. There are also computer screens where you can search for details of all known victims.

Exhibit Facility for Atomic Bombed Remnants

This is a recent addition to the Peace Park, opening in 2022. During a survey conducted in 2019 in the area around the park, remnants of bombed houses were found buried underground. Here, you can see one such house.

Monument in Memory of the Korean Victims

Around 10 per cent of the victims of the bomb were Korean. There were around 100,000 Koreans living in Hiroshima at the time, primarily as conscripts or ‘mobilised students’. This somewhat belated monument (it was erected 16 years after the completion of the Peace Park) acknowledges their plight.

Peace Bell

Sitting in the middle of a lotus pond is this temple style bell. It was placed here so that people could ring it and hope for peace.

Atomic Bomb Dome

Across the river from the park stands probably the starkest reminder of the devastation wreaked upon Hiroshima; the Atomic Bomb Dome. Built in 1915, it was the Industrial Promotion Hall until the bomb exploded almost directly above it. Everyone inside was killed but the building, designed to withstand an earthquake, was one of very few left standing near the hypocentre.

It was decided to keep the remains as a memorial. Basically it’s just a derelict building, but it is also a symbol of hope. It has since become a poignant symbol of the city and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Dinner at Coco Ichibanya

After a lot of walking, we chose a nearby restaurant for dinner. Coco Ichibanya is a chain of Japanese curry restaurants. You order food on a tablet at your table which has an English option, so we actually knew what we were getting in advance. The menu is extensive; you can add curry sauce and rice to a wide range of foods which you wouldn’t necessarily think of adding curry sauce to, like omelettes and sausages, for example. I opted for a vegetable curry with a cheesy garlic naan. It was very tasty and went down a treat after a long day.

Day 2

Ferry to Miyajima

Although you can get a ferry direct to Miyajima from Hiroshima Peace Park, we had to take a more circuitous route with a bus to the station, a train to the port and a ferry. This route makes the journey free with a JR Pass.

We started by getting on the wrong bus and boarded the Loop Bus instead of the Tourist Loop Bus, but it got us to the station and the driver even accepted our JR passes, which was an unexpected bonus. Then we caught the train to Miyajimaguchi. From here, it’s a 10 minute walk to the ferry terminal and a 10 minute ferry ride to the island of Miyajima, renowned for its floating torii gate which is one of the most photographed attractions in Japan.

Miyajima Island

This small island is home to Itskushima Shrine. Inland is Mount Misen, which can be reached by ropeway or by various trails.

For breakfast, we bought some sandwiches at a convenience store on the way to the port and thought sitting on a bench by the seaside to eat them would be pleasant. A dear also liked the look of our sandwiches…

It’s around a 10 minute walk from the ferry terminal either along the seafront or along one of a couple of shopping streets. We were not sure exactly where we were going as the deer ate our map!

Itsukushima Shrine

Itsukushima Shrine and its torii gate are unique for being built over water. The shrine complex consists of multiple buildings which are connected by boardwalks on stilts with the torii around 200 metres out to sea.

Entrance to the shrine complex, which also offers the best views of the torii, costs Y300.

Otorii

At 16 metres tall and with a pillar circumference of 10 metres. this is one of the biggest torii gates in Japan. At high tide, it appears to float on the water.

Ometesando Shopping Street

We walked back to the ferry via Ometesando Shopping Street. The street is a hive of activity, interspersed with souvenir shops and food outlets. Oysters and eels are popular, plus waffles shaped like maple leaves which you can observe being made in machines along the street.

Dinner at Okonomimura

Back in Hiroshima, we were keen to try the local speciality, okonomiyaki; pancakes layered with noodles and a variety of other ingredients. At Okonomimura there are multiple stalls selling this local dish.

Customers sit on stools surrounding a large griddle where the chef prepares your meal. When it’s ready, she pushes it towards you and you hack off slices, leaving the rest sizzling away on the griddle.

It was a fun experience and the pancakes were OK – nothing special. The cons;

• if you don’t eat really quickly your food burns
• it gets really hot eating next to a griddle
• it’s not the ideal meal to attempt to eat with two sticks

Dormy Inn Public Baths

In the evening, while the old man crushed candy, I did some laundry. The washing machine is in the changing room for the public baths, so while I was waiting, I figured I might as well whip my kit off and have a soak. The baths include a big sit-down bath plus two smaller lie-down baths which are so relaxing. In addition, there’s a jet steam sauna where steam is sprayed through holes in the ceiling. As the Japanese like to bathe with their bits out, obviously photography is prohibited, so here’s a photo from the hotel website.

• Trip taken: January 2023
• Updated: March 2023