Hiroshima (広島) is an industrial city of wide boulevards and criss-crossing rivers along the coast of the Seto Inland Sea. Although many only know it for the horrific split-second on August 6, 1945 when it became the site of the world's first atomic bomb attack, it is now a modern cosmopolitan city with excellent cuisine and a bustling nightlife.
Photos: Wikimedia Commons contributors.
Those expecting to step off the Shinkansen into a pile of smoldering rubble will be in for a surprise, as Hiroshima has all the ferroconcrete and blinking neon of any other modern Japanese city. Teenagers stream in and out of the station, where McDonald's and the latest keitai (mobile phones) await; hapless salarymen rush down Aioi-dori to their next meeting, casting a bloodshot eye toward the seedy bars of Nagarekawa as they pass. At first glance, it can be hard to imagine that anything out of the ordinary ever happened here. Hiroshima was founded in 1589 on the delta formed by the Ota River, flowing out to the Seto Inland Sea.
There is a Visit Hiroshima Tourist Pass that covers either 1-3 days of unlimited journeys inside the city or the prefecture. It can be obtained from the Information Center on the first floor of the airport, the JR station, the Hiroshima Bus Center, and other tourist locations. Digital passes are also available online and are suitable for travelers seeking to use public transportation frequently during their trip in the city. Hiroshima has an extensive tram (streetcar) network, which is operated by Hiroden (広電). It's a slow but reliable way of getting around.
Most of the memorials related to the atomic bomb are in and around the Peace Memorial Park (平和公園 Heiwa-kōen), reachable by tram line 2 or 6 to Genbaku Dome-mae. Coming from JR Hiroshima Station, you'll see the Peace Park on your left just before crossing the T-shaped Aioi Bridge, which is thought to have been the target of the bomb. Once part of the busy Nakajima merchant district, this area was destroyed almost in its entirety by the bomb. Today, there are more than fifty memorials, statues, and other structures in the Park. Some will be obscure in their meaning; others are immediate and devastating.
Flower Festival (フラワーフェスティバル). First weekend of May. This is Hiroshima's biggest festival, begun in 1975 to celebrate the Carp's first baseball championship. There are food vendors and things for sale, but live performances now dominate the program, with comedians and J-pop bands on stages along Heiwa-o-dori. It's the smaller performances that make the Flower Festival worthwhile, though, particularly in the stalls near Jizo-dori, where you might stumble across a phenomenal Okinawan band or a local jazz combo. Free. Peace Memorial Ceremony (広島平和記念式典 Heiwa Kinen Shikiten), Peace Memorial Park, ☏ +81 82-504-2103. 6 August.
Hiroshima is famous for its style of okonomiyaki (お好み焼き), which literally means "cook it as you like it". Often (and somewhat misleadingly) called "Japanese pizza", it is better described as a type of savory pancake made with egg, cabbage, soba noodles, and meat, seafood or cheese. It is grilled in layers on a hot plate in front of you and slathered liberally with okonomiyaki sauce, with optional extras such as mayonnaise, pickled ginger, and seaweed. It sounds and looks like a mess, but is very tasty and filling.
Nagarekawa has the highest concentration of bars in Hiroshima — the good, the bad, and the hostess — but there are a number of good, quiet wine bars on Hakushima-dori, and plenty of foreigner-friendly pubs clustered around the giant PARCO building. Yagenbori-dori is full of bars and clubs that are spread across floors of the various high-rise buildings as well as a number of "soapland" brothels. Sake enthusiasts should not miss the chance to visit the breweries of Saijo, particularly during the annual festival in October — see above. 1 Barcos, 7-9 Yagenbori-dori, Naka-ku (Sanwa Building, 2nd floor) (Hatchobori tram stop), ☏ +81 82-246-5800. Daily 08:00-17:00.
Hiroshima has a rough reputation among Japanese people from other cities, thanks largely to the yakuza movies that were filmed in town. In reality it is much safer than any large Western city. As with most places in Japan, petty theft is virtually non-existent. Nagarekawa, the nightlife district, has the usual range of adult entertainment venues found in most large Japanese cities, including some hostess bars that may overcharge — so the standard caution applies. There have been a few surprise police raids on bars that offer dancing after 01:00, in accordance with a semi-obscure local law about public immorality that Hiroshima occasionally feels compelled to enforce — probably in order to ca…
Guide content from Wikivoyage contributors (CC BY-SA) — abridged; the full article has much more.
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In Oct, Hiroshima typically sees ~24°C daytime highs and 9 rainy days.
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