Hiroshima: A 2-Day Itinerary
Two days is enough to do Hiroshima’s core properly if you split it the obvious way: the Peace Memorial sites and the living city on day one, Miyajima as its own full day on day two. Don’t try to compress both into one day, each deserves its own pace.
Day 1: Peace Memorial Park and the living city
Start at the A-Bomb Dome, then walk into Peace Memorial Park for the Cenotaph, the Flame of Peace, and the Children’s Peace Monument. Give the Peace Memorial Museum a proper morning, its main building reopened in 2019, and the exhibits move from historical context through survivors’ own belongings and testimony; admission has long been kept deliberately low, commonly cited around ¥200 for adults, though it’s worth confirming at the gate. Move slowly here and keep your voice down, this isn’t a stop to rush.
In the afternoon, take a tram (a flat fare commonly cited around ¥240, check current pricing) out to Hiroshima Castle, an honest 1958 concrete reconstruction with a modest samurai-history museum inside, then walk to Shukkeien Garden nearby, a rebuilt Edo-period landscape garden that’s a genuinely calm half-hour. For dinner, head to Okonomimura, the multi-floor building of individual okonomiyaki stalls, and expect a plain pork-and-noodle okonomiyaki to run somewhere around ¥1,000-1,500, more with oysters or extra toppings.
End the day at the Orizuru Tower next to the Dome, its rooftop deck is open into the evening and gives a good city overview to close out the day.
Day 2: Miyajima
Get an early tram or train to Miyajimaguchi, then the roughly 10-minute ferry across, a one-way fare commonly cited around ¥200, plus a small visitor tax (around ¥100) collected on the island. Aim to arrive before the bulk of the day-trippers coming from Kyoto and Osaka.
Visit Itsukushima Shrine and the floating torii gate first, checking tide times beforehand since the gate looks completely different at high tide (appearing to float) versus low tide (walkable to its base). From there, take the ropeway up Mount Misen, leaving a roughly 30-minute hike to the actual summit, for views over the Seto Inland Sea. Sika deer wander the town and the lower trails; don’t feed them, however tempting the photo looks.
For lunch or an early dinner, order anago-meshi (conger eel over rice), a Miyajima specialty, and pick up momiji manju, the maple-leaf cakes sold on every street corner, as the easiest souvenir on the whole trip. Head back on the ferry with enough buffer before the last sailing if you’re not staying overnight on the island.
Two days genuinely covers the essentials. For more time, our 3-day itinerary adds a proper Onomichi day trip, and our full Hiroshima guide has the rest of the practical planning.