Mid-Hiroshima Prefecture

Hiroshima Station is the bustling transportation hub of our peaceful city, and one of the principal entertainment hubs as well. All JR lines in the city stop here, and from here, people can take numerous buses and streetcars anywhere in the city, or even out of town. The ekie shopping complex located inside the station building also has no shortage of restaurants and souvenir shops to keep visitors busy for hours.

Oshima Shrine, which is only a fifteen-minute walk from JR Mihara Station, is a shrine that has a deep connection to Mihara and has been treasured by the people of Mihara throughout the ages. It is said that the present Oshima Shrine came about when Kobayakawa Takakage, the ruler of Mihara Castle and fervent worshipper of the local tutelary god Oshima Inari (who protected the castle and territory), took the branch shrines of Itsukushima Shrine–which he prayed to even in the midst of battle–and moved them in with the Oshima Inari shrine. Every February, there is a Hina Festival where people pray for the growth of healthy girls, and that event bustles with locals.

Tadanoumi Station is a humble station right by Tadanoumi Port, which is most tourists’ first stop on their journey to Okunoshima, the infamous “Rabbit Island” off the coast of Takehara. As such, the station sign also features a rabbit mascot to remind tourists to disembark here if they wish to see the bunnies. Its location also makes it easy to squeeze a quick visit to either Takehara Preserved Historic District or Mihara Castle in the same day as well.

Known as “Aki’s Little Kyoto,” the Takehara Preserved Historic District is a tourist spot where you can see the old streets of Takehara City, which has prospered since ancient times. Lined with old houses and warehouses that are over several hundred years old the area has been selected as a national important traditional building preservation district. Once you step into the district, you will feel as if you have taken a step back in time to traditional Japan.

Hiroshima Okonomi Monogatari is a tourist facility located just outside JR Hiroshima Station. 15 okonomiyaki stalls of various sizes are lined up around a large area that recreates the food stalls of Hiroshima from the 1960s. Each stall offers its own unique okonomiyaki and teppanyaki. The customer base ranges from tourists both from Japan and overseas, to locals living in Hiroshima. Many of the stalls have English menus as well as English-speaking staff.