Hiroshima: A 3-Day Itinerary
Three days lets you add one proper day trip beyond the city core and Miyajima, rather than treating Hiroshima as a rushed overnight stop between Kyoto and Fukuoka.
Day 1: Peace Memorial Park and the city core
Spend the morning at the A-Bomb Dome and Peace Memorial Park, giving the Peace Memorial Museum real time (admission has long been kept deliberately low, commonly cited around ¥200 for adults, confirm at the gate). This is the anchor of the whole trip, don’t rush it for the sake of an afternoon schedule.
In the afternoon, tram out to Hiroshima Castle (a 1958 reconstruction, worth an hour) and Shukkeien Garden nearby. Dinner at Okonomimura for layered Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki, a plain version commonly runs somewhere around ¥1,000-1,500.
Day 2: Miyajima
Tram or train to Miyajimaguchi, then the roughly 10-minute ferry (around ¥200 one-way, plus a roughly ¥100 visitor tax on arrival). Visit Itsukushima Shrine and the floating torii gate, checking tide times first, then take the Mount Misen ropeway, leaving a roughly 30-minute hike to the summit. Eat anago-meshi for lunch, and pick up momiji manju before heading back. If you can, stay overnight on the island itself, seeing the torii lit up after the day-trippers leave is worth the extra planning around ferry times.
Day 3: Onomichi
Take the shinkansen east, roughly 40 minutes to Shin-Onomichi (or a longer ride on the local line if you’d rather see the coastal approach). Walk the hillside temple route connecting roughly 25 temples across the upper town, and take the ropeway to the top of Senkōji Hill (a modest one-way fare) for views over the narrow Onomichi Channel below. Wander back down through the old town’s alleys, lined with small cafes and galleries, before returning to Hiroshima for the evening.
Three days is the sweet spot for a first visit: the memorial sites get proper time, Miyajima gets its own day, and Onomichi shows you a genuinely different side of the region without adding a fourth day. For a slower pace or to add Iwakuni as well, see our 4-day itinerary , and for the practical planning behind all of this, our full Hiroshima guide .