Getting Around

Transportation in
Hiroshima Prefecture

There are various means of transportation within the Hiroshima Prefecture. Listed here are the top six main modes of transportation including buses and trains. Check in advance to make sure you can get to your destination smoothly.

Bus

There are many bus routes in Hiroshima Prefecture, and they are familiar to both local residents and tourists.

One of the most convenient is the Hiroshima Meipurupu (Maple Loop Bus), which is a sightseeing bus that circles through the center of the city. The Hiroshima Meipurupu is a bus that starts at Hiroshima Station and takes you around the city’s sightseeing spots such as Hiroshima Castle and Atomic Bomb Dome.

A one-day pass costs 1,000 yen and a two-day pass costs 1,500 yen. The One Day Kure Pass, which offers unlimited rides in central Kure, is also popular. The Hiroshima Tabi Pass and the One Day Kure Pass are also available as digital tickets, so you can choose the right option for you.

About using the bus

Joy in HIROSHIMA

Loop bus Hiroshima Meipuru-pu

The Hiroshima City Loop Bus provides a convenient way to get around the sightseeing spots and museums in the center of Hiroshima City.
There are four routes: Orange Route (via Peace Park and Art Museum), Green Route (via Peace Park and Shintenchi), Lemon Route (via Peace Park) and Blue Route (Hiroshima Port Access Bus). The Orange Route, Green Route and Lemon Route all go through the World Heritage Site “Atomic Bomb Dome” and Peace Memorial Park.
The Blue Route is a direct service from the Bullet Train exit of Hiroshima Station to Hiroshima Port, and is convenient for those wanting to go on the Seto Inland Sea Shimatabi Cruise, or the Hiroshima Bay Cruise Ginga (Lunch Cruise Dinner Cruise). The bus also connects to some of the cruise ferries/Super Jet boat rides on the Hiroshima-Kure-Matsuyama route.

Route Map 1 (*in Japanese)

https://www.chugoku-jrbus.co.jp/teikan/meipurupu/pdf/20191001_mr_map_jp.pdf

Route Map 2 (*in Japanese)

https://www.chugoku-jrbus.co.jp/teikan/meipurupu/pdf/20191001_mrblu_map_jp.pdf

Timetable (*in Japanese)

https://www.chugoku-jrbus.co.jp/teikan/meipurupu/#sec02

Fare

Usual price
One-day pass (unlimited rides for one day)
Adult (12 years old and over) 400 yen
Child (6 – 12 years old) 200 yen

Official website

http://www.chugoku-jrbus.co.jp/teikan/meipurupu/

Hiroshima world heritage sightseeing bus

The exterior of the bus is based on the red color that represents the image of the Hiroshima Toyo Carp as well as the Itsukushima Shrine. It is also covered with stickers featuring illustrations of Hiroshima Castle, the Atomic Bomb Dome and Itsukushima Shrine.
The interior of the bus is also based on the same red color scheme as the exterior, and features original marshmallows designed with the pattern of the maple leaf, which is the prefectural flower and tree of Hiroshima.
The Hello Kitty Shinkansen designed bus is currently in operation for a limited time.
For lunch, you will be served a bento lunch box from Musubi no Musashi, a well-known bento lunch box company in Hiroshima. Their hand-made musubi have the texture of fluffy rice.
This is a unique musubi made with the skills and heart that “Musubi no Musashi” has cultivated since its establishment.

Fare

Normal price
Adult (12 years old and over) 5,000 yen
Child (6 – 12 years old): 3,000 yen

Official website

http://www.chugoku-jrbus.co.jp/teikan/sekaiisan/

Train

There are many train lines in Hiroshima, covering almost every corner of the prefecture.

If you use the JR line, you can conveniently get to Hiroshima Station, where you can take almost any line from there. If you’re going between Miyajima and Saijo, use the Sanyo Line. To Kure you can catch the Kure Line and you can take the Geibi Line to Miyoshi. However, there are no JR stations in the center of Hiroshima City, where the Atomic Bomb Dome and the downtown area are located. Please note that you will have to change to a streetcar or the monorail (Astram Line).

For 14 days, the JAPAN RAIL PASS is available for 52,960 yen for adults (26,480 yen for children) for use on bullet trains, express trains, local trains, JR buses, JR Miyajima ferries, and more. It can also be purchased at JR’s designated dealerships.

About using the Train

Joy in HIROSHIMA

Streetcar

Streetcars are a very rare form of transportation that can only be found in 18 locations in Japan. Some of the original “retro” cars, similar to the cable cars in San Francisco, are still in operation. Hiroshima’s streetcars are called Hiroden and are very popular with local residents and tourists alike.

The main lines of the Hiroden are located in the center of Hiroshima City. It’s a great way to get around Hiroshima’s main downtown area, including the Atomic Bomb Dome, Hatchobori District, and other tourist attractions, with virtually no transfers. The Miyajima Line ends at Miyajimaguchi Station, where you can then board a ferry to Miyajima. Also, in the summer of 2020, a shopping center called “etto” (meaning “many” in the Hiroshima dialect) began operations in front of the Miyajima Station, along with many new restaurants and souvenir shops.

About using the Streetcar

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Astrum Line

The Astram Line, with its distinctive orange design, is the only monorail system in Hiroshima Prefecture. It is a relatively new mode of transportation, built for the 1994 Asian Games.

The Astram Line has only 22 stops in total. However, there are plenty of places to visit on the line. Some attractions can only be reached by the Astram Line, such as Edion Stadium Hiroshima (Koikikoen-Mae Station), which is the home of the Sanfrecce Hiroshima professional soccer team, and Asa Zoo Park (Kamiyasu Station).

About using the Astrum Line

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Rental Car

If you want to go to an area that is not served by trains or buses, or if you want the freedom to travel without being tied to a timetable, you can rent a car and drive around.

You will need to meet a number of requirements to rent a car. First of all, you must be at least 18 years old and you must have your driver’s license and passport. You must have an international driver’s license or a driver’s license from your country with a Japanese translation of it and your passport. An international driver’s license must be issued by your country’s automobile association before coming to Japan. In some countries, such as Germany and France, you can drive with your own driver’s license and translation documents, but the translation documents must be issued by your country’s embassy or consulate after you arrive in Japan.

If you plan to travel with a rental car, try to book it online in advance at least a week before you plan to rent it. Some national car rental chains offer English-language reservations, so be sure to check them out.

Bicycle

Bicycles are a great way to get around Hiroshima, or to ride along the Shimanami Kaido and other cycling routes. There are a variety of bike rental services in Hiroshima Prefecture, so you can use them to suit your travel plans.

The new Pi-su-ku-ru (Peace-Cycle) Bicycle Rental in Hiroshima City is a shared bike rental service. There are more than 100 bike rental spots from Hiroshima Station to the center of the city and Ujina Port, and you can rent and return your bikes at any spot you like. The cost of using a bike is 150 yen per hour or 1,000 yen for a one-day unlimited ride. You can easily register to use the service from your smartphone, and credit cards can be used for payment.

If you want to ride along the cycling route of the Shimanami Kaido, we recommend renting a Shimanami Rent-a-Cycle, where you can choose from three different types of bicycles for as little as 1,100 yen per day (300 yen for children).

About using the Bicycle

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Taxi

Whether you want to get to a sightseeing destination or a tasty restaurant without getting lost, or if you want to get around the city when the trains aren’t running, taxis are the way to go.
A taxi driver in Hiroshima will always take you to your destination in a friendly manner using the best route.
To get a taxi, you can either wait for your turn at one of the many taxi stands, or raise your hand on the street to indicate that you would like a ride.
Hiroshima is a large city, so it is best to take the train to the nearest station first, and then use the taxis waiting for passengers in front of the station.

Some companies also offer a sightseeing taxi service, where you can hire a taxi for the day to take you around the sights of Hiroshima.
Some companies offer a three-hour taxi tour of the city’s most famous sights and World Heritage Sites, so be sure to check in advance.
Hiroko Taxi offers a three-hour tour of Hiroshima City for 17,400 yen.
They will tell you all about the best places to visit and seasonal spots that only the taxi-drivers can know.

About using the Taxi

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Ship

The city of Hiroshima has six rivers running through it, so boats have been an important form of transport since ancient times.

Today, sightseeing cruises run along the rivers in Hiroshima and are a popular way to see the city and enjoy scenery different to what you can see from land.
The Hiroshima River Cruise is available in several courses, with the “Hiroshima River Cruise” course lasting approximately 25 minutes for 1200 yen.
There are fixed departure and arrival times, so please check in advance.
Please note that depending on the weather and river conditions, the boat may not run.

You can also take a ferry from Miyajima-guchi to Miyajima, which costs 180 yen each way.
If you are cycling along the Shimanami Kaido, it is popular to take a ferry from Onomichi to Mukojima, which costs 100 yen each way and takes about 10 minutes.
There are many opportunities to use a boat when sightseeing in Hiroshima, so why not take some time to enjoy the scenery from the water?

Access Routes

There are two main ways to get to Hiroshima: Direct flights from other countries (via airplanes) and travel from other prefectures in Japan (via planes and bullet trains). When sightseeing in Hiroshima Prefecture, it is recommended to use buses and trains, which are also used by local residents. Check in advance to ensure a comfortable trip.

Moving from another province

Airplane

For domestic flights, the Hiroshima Airport or the Iwakuni Kintaikyo Airport is the most convenient way to get to and from Hiroshima. The Iwakuni Kintaikyo Airport is also used as a military runway, and you can see U.S. and Self-Defense Force military aircraft from the windows of the plane.

Hiroshima Airport is served by Haneda Airport (Tokyo), Narita International Airport (Chiba), New Chitose Airport (Hokkaido), Sendai Airport (Miyagi) and Naha Airport (Okinawa). Iwakuni Kintaikyo Airport is served by Haneda Airport (Tokyo) and Naha Airport (Okinawa).

Approximate flight times are 1 hour and 30 minutes for Tokyo and 2 hours for Hokkaido and Okinawa. You cannot reach Okinawa by Shinkansen, so be sure to fly if you are going from Hiroshima to Okinawa.

Shinkansen

If you want to go to Osaka or Fukuoka, it is convenient to use the Shinkansen (Bullet Train). There are several Shinkansen stations in Hiroshima, and you can also travel within the prefecture by Shinkansen. The Shinkansen stations in Hiroshima Prefecture are Hiroshima Station, Higashi-Hiroshima Station, Mihara Station, Shin-Onomichi Station, and Fukuyama Station.

There are different types of Shinkansen, so it’s best to choose the right one for your destination and travel plans. There are two types: the Local Line (Kodama), which stops at all stations but takes longer, and the Express Line (Nozomi, Hikari, Sakura, and Mizuho), which stop at only a few stations but can get you to your destination faster (The Nozomi and Mizuho lines are not available through the JAPAN RAIL PASS).

The bullet train ride between Hiroshima and Osaka takes at least 1 hour and 20 minutes, and between Hiroshima and Fukuoka takes at least 1 hour. The Hiroshima-Tokyo journey takes 3 hours and 40 minutes at the earliest, but you can still see Mt. Fuji from a train window.

Access from within Japan

Railroad(Shinkansen) – To Hiroshima Station
Tokyo Station
3hr.56min
Shin-Yokohama Station
3hr.37min
Nagoya Station
2hr.12min
Kyoto Station
1hr.36min
Shin-Osaka Station
1hr.21min
Shin-kobe Station
1hr.8min
Okayama Station
36min
Shin-Yamaguchi Station
30min
Kokura Station
47min
Hakata Station
1hr.2min
Airplane – To Hiroshima
Narita
1hr.45min
Tokyo(Haneda)
1hr.30min
Sapporo
2hr.
Sendai
1hr.40min
Okinawa
1hr.50min

Direct flights to Hiroshima

The Hiroshima International Airport is the gateway to the city, with direct flights to and from Asia, carrying more than 300,000 passengers each year. Flights to Hiroshima are available from Taiwan, China, South Korea, Hong Kong and Thailand.

Direct flights out of the airport include flights to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (Taipei), Hong Kong International Airport (Hong Kong), Incheon International Airport (Seoul), Dalian Airport (Dalian), Beijing Capital International Airport (via Beijing and Dalian), Shanghai Pudong International Airport (Shanghai) and Don Mueang Airport (Bangkok).
Flight time is a minimum of 1 hour and 15 minutes (Hiroshima to Shanghai). All flights arrive within half a day of departure, making it easy to travel to and from Japan, just like a domestic trip.

Airplane-To Hiroshima

From Asia
Seoul
1hr.30min
Dalian
2hr.
Beijing
4hr.30min
Shanghai
1hr.40min
Taipei
2hr.25min
Hongkong
3hr.30min
Bangkok
6hr.15min