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Miyajima's forested hills rising from the Seto Inland Sea
A small temple hall among granite boulders near the top of Mount Misen
A Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki made with udon noodles
Temple buildings at Daisho-in on Miyajima
The Mazda Museum in Hiroshima

Things to do in Hiroshima and Miyajima: 9 experiences

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Photo: Petr Vodička, CC BY-SA 4.0

Mount Misen, Miyajima

Ride the ropeway up Mount Misen and walk on to the summit

Check dates and prices

Photo: dconvertini, CC BY-SA 2.0

Okonomimura, Shintenchi, Hiroshima

Eat Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki at a griddle counter in Okonomimura

Check dates and prices

Photo: ノボホショコロトソ, CC BY 4.0

Daisho-in, Miyajima

Spin the sutra wheels on the steps of Daisho-in

Photo: Sailko, CC BY 3.0

Mazda Museum, Minami Ward, Hiroshima

See a working car assembly line on a free Mazda Museum tour

Photo: dennis bloodnok, CC BY 2.0

Hiroshima sits on a river delta on the Seto Inland Sea, and Miyajima, the sacred island of Itsukushima Shrine, lies a train and ferry ride to the southwest. The Japan page covers the Peace Memorial Park and the shrine's tidal torii. This page adds the rest: the climb up Mount Misen, the temple at its foot, a merchant's house, the island's oysters and maple-leaf cakes, and in the city the okonomiyaki counters, a 17th-century garden, the castle grounds and Mazda's factory tour.

9 things to do in Hiroshima and Miyajima

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A small temple hall among granite boulders near the top of Mount Misen

Ride the ropeway up Mount Misen and walk on to the summit

Mount Misen, Miyajima

3 to 4 hoursGo alone or with a tour

Miyajima's highest peak, where Kobo Daishi is said to have lit a flame that later lit Hiroshima's Flame of Peace.

Check dates and pricesMiyajima day trip with ropeway ride
Been there?
Temple buildings at Daisho-in on Miyajima

Spin the sutra wheels on the steps of Daisho-in

Daisho-in, Miyajima

45 minutes to 1 hourFree

A major Shingon temple at the foot of Mount Misen, where turning the wheels on the stair rail counts as reading the sutras.

Been there?
The old merchant house of the Miyajima Museum of History and Folklore

Step into a soy sauce merchant's house in Miyajima's folklore museum

Miyajima Museum of History and Folklore, Miyajima

45 minutesNo booking needed

A merchant family's 160-year-old home and storehouse, now showing how islanders lived beside the shrine.

Been there?
A street of food shops in Miyajima's town

Eat grilled oysters and warm momiji manju in Miyajima's town

Miyajima town

1 hourNo booking needed

Hiroshima farms most of Japan's oysters, and Miyajima invented the maple-leaf cake sold all over the prefecture.

Been there?
A Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki made with udon noodles

Eat Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki at a griddle counter in Okonomimura

Okonomimura, Shintenchi, Hiroshima

1 to 1.5 hoursGo alone or with a tour

Hiroshima stacks its okonomiyaki: thin batter, a heap of cabbage and yakisoba noodles, cooked in front of you at the counter.

Check dates and pricesOkonomiyaki hopping tour
Been there?
The central pond of Shukkeien garden in Hiroshima

Walk the miniature landscapes of Shukkeien garden

Shukkeien, Naka Ward, Hiroshima

1 hourNo booking needed

A garden from 1620 whose name means shrunken scenery: valleys, mountains and forests in miniature around one pond.

Been there?
A gate of Hiroshima Castle across its moat

Walk Hiroshima Castle's moats and rebuilt Ninomaru

Hiroshima Castle, Naka Ward, Hiroshima

1 hourFree

The castle that made Hiroshima a city, destroyed in 1945; its keep is now shut, but the moats and rebuilt Ninomaru remain open.

Been there?
The Mazda Museum in Hiroshima

See a working car assembly line on a free Mazda Museum tour

Mazda Museum, Minami Ward, Hiroshima

2 to 3 hours with the trainTimed entry

Mazda was founded in Hiroshima in 1920, and its free guided tour walks you past a real assembly line.

Been there?
The Atomic Bomb Dome on the bank of the Motoyasu River in Hiroshima

Walk Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park and museum

Hiroshima

Book ahead

Stand on the delta where the atomic bomb exploded on 6 August 1945, then give the museum's stories of individual victims unhurried time.

Tours in Hiroshima and Miyajima
Been there?

Traveller picks

Hidden gems suggested by travellers. We check each one before it goes up; the words are theirs, not ours.

No traveller picks for Hiroshima and Miyajima yet. Know a place most visitors miss?

Plan your trip

  • Getting there

    Hiroshima is on the Sanyo Shinkansen between Osaka and Fukuoka. Miyajima is a JR train ride to Miyajimaguchi and a short ferry crossing away; the Japan page has the times and the island's visitor tax.

  • Getting around

    Trams cover the city: lines 1, 2 and 6 run from Hiroshima Station to the centre for ¥240. The Meipuru-pu loop bus links the station with Shukkeien, the castle and the Peace Park. On Miyajima you walk; the ropeway is the only lift up Mount Misen.

  • How to split the days

    In must30's view, give the city one full day (Peace Park, Shukkeien, the castle and okonomiyaki at night) and Miyajima another, starting early with the ropeway or the climb up Misen. Add half a day for the Mazda Museum on a weekday.

  • Day trips

    Iwakuni and its five-arched Kintaikyo bridge are 50 minutes from Hiroshima by local train, with Miyajimaguchi halfway, so the bridge can share a day with the island. The Chugoku page covers it.

Questions travellers ask

Is the inside of Hiroshima Castle open?

No. The rebuilt keep closed for good in March 2026 because of its ageing concrete and equipment. The grounds, moats and the rebuilt Ninomaru gate and turrets stay open.

Can I still see the eternal flame on Mount Misen?

The Reikado hall that kept the flame said to be lit by Kobo Daishi was destroyed by fire in spring 2026 and will be rebuilt. The summit, its views and the main hall nearby can still be visited.

Do I need to book the Mazda Museum?

Yes. Visits are free but only by online reservation, up to three months ahead, on weekday guided tours. There is no entry without a booking.

Should I walk up Mount Misen or take the ropeway?

Either works. The ropeway leaves you about 30 steep minutes below the summit; the trails take 1.5 to 2 hours. In must30's view, ride up and walk down the Daisho-in trail.

Things to do in Japan

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