Complete Tour of Hiroshima City

Hiroshima Castle was built in the year 1599 by Hiroshima’s most powerful warrior and leader at the time, Mori Terumoto. The castle featured a five-story Castle Tower, a Honmaru Palace, and a moat that flows like a river. Unfortunately, both the Castle Tower and the Honmaru Palace were destroyed by the atomic bombing in 1945, and only the Castle Tower has been reconstructed. The castle tower now houses the Hiroshima Castle Museum, which exhibits materials related to Hiroshima’s history, the Mori family, local folklore, and natural history.

(Entry fee)
18+ – ¥370
Senior citizen – ¥180
High School student – ¥180
Junior High School student
or under – Free
※ For students and senior
citizens, please present
identification to verify your age
such as your passport, or
school ID, at reception when
purchasing your ticket.

Musashibo is a chain restaurant in Hiroshima City that sells “shiru-nashi tantanmen,” or Dandan noodles without soup. Originally a Chinese recipe, Dandan noodles became a hit in Japan, and countless restaurants toiled to perfect their own twist on the Sichuan classic. Hiroshima’s variant has amassed its fair share of fame with its lack of soup and abundance of piquant spices, and the Musashibo branches are never far from any shopping center downtown.

Located in the center of Hiroshima City, the museum is adjacent to the Shukkeien, a national scenic beauty with abundant greenery. From the lobby and restrooms, you can enjoy the seasonal scenery of the Shukkeien, which was built as a feudal garden for the Asano family, lords of the Hiroshima domain. The museum is also home to a wide variety of artworks, including the “Imari Bowl with Design of Flowers and Plants in Color” and “Itsukushima” (Important Cultural Property), artworks related to Hiroshima by Ai Mitsu, Entsuba Shozo, Hirayama Ikuo, etc., Japanese and Asian Crafts including folk art works by Kawai Takujiro and Hamada Shoji, Central Asian dyeing and weaving, as well as metalwork. The collection includes over 5,000 works (including those deposited) under the theme of “Art of the 1920s and 1930s,” such as Salvador Dali’s “Dream of Venus” and Isamu Noguchi’s “Reminiscence.” The collection is changed four times a year and introduced in exhibitions. Volunteer guides from the Tomo no Kai provide easy-to-understand information about the works.
In addition, the Special Exhibition Room holds about six special exhibitions a year. Many events such as lectures and concerts are held in conjunction with the special exhibitions.

Okonomi Village is a multi-storied building filled to the brim with vendors selling the exact same product: okonomiyaki and teppanyaki with alcoholic beverages and soft drinks. Pretty much every store inside has a history behind it, and while some establishments’ okonomiyaki may taste better than others’, you won’t find a terrible okonomiyaki inside here. Lots of locals swing by during lunch breaks or on the way home from work, and some undoubtedly have found a store in here that they swear by.

On August 6, 1945, the world’s first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. To this day, the Atomic Bomb Dome conveys the horror of the bomb’s destructive power and the extent of the damage it caused. The Atomic Bomb Dome avoided total destruction, although it was only about 160 meters from the blast’s hypocenter. However, all the people inside the building died instantly, and the beautiful Western-style exterior and interior were utterly destroyed, with only the building’s steel frame remaining intact. In 1996, the Atomic Bomb Dome was registered as a World Heritage Site to be an architectural reminder of the horrors of nuclear weapons.

The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum is a facility that exhibits materials related to the atomic bombings. Such items include artifacts of A-bomb survivors as well as photographs and drawings that illustrate the devastation of the bombing. More than 400,000 foreign visitors have visited the museum to date, and overseas visitors account for 20-30% of the total number of visitors. The exhibits at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum are divided into five areas in total and appeal to the world for peace from two main perspectives: “What happened in Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, and how the city was rebuilt,” and “How terrible and destructive nuclear weapons really are.” Audioguides (400 yen per unit) are also available for rent to help visitors learn more about the exhibits. The audio guides are available in Japanese, English, Chinese, Korean, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Italian, Russian, and Thai.

(Exhibition admission fee)
18+ – ¥200
High School student – ¥100
Junior High School student
or under – Free
※ If you are a student, please
present your passport or
school ID at reception when
purchasing your ticket.

Founded in 2006, Denko Sekka is an up-and-coming okonomiyaki restaurant that is attracting attention even in Hiroshima. Whilst the okonomiyaki at most restaurants such as “Mitchan” have a crispy texture, Denko Sekka’s okonomiyaki is characterized by the eggs and cabbage’s fluffy and soft texture. Of all the Denko Sekka restaurants, the Denko Sekka Ekimae Hiroba branch is conveniently located just a three-minute walk from the south exit of JR Hiroshima Station and is crowded with tourists and local residents alike.

Edion Tsutaya Electrics is a complex store that is part of EKICITY, a shopping center adjacent to Hiroshima Station. There are restaurants on the first floor, which also shares space with a bookstore. On the upper floors, customers can find electronics and other home appliances.

ekie (stylized with lowercase letters only) is a relatively new shopping center attached to the northern and eastern ends of Hiroshima Station. It’s actually broken down into several sections, but on the whole, it’s a bookstore, a convenience store, a food court, a nightlife destination, a souvenir store, and a supermarket at the same time! Grab a bite to eat here right after stepping off the Shinkansen, or buy a last-minute present for someone special right before catching your train!