Practically obliterated almost 80 years ago, Hiroshima rose from the ashes and rebuilt itself into a cosmopolitan city any visitor to Japan should add to their itinerary.
Peace may have resumed decades ago, but the weather gods had other ideas on a recent visit to Hiroshima as Typhoon Kong-rey made landfall in nearby Taiwan. My phone buzzed into action with warnings to evacuate as Japan sat in the path of the category four typhoon, further accentuating the city’s tragic past and fuelling my fascination with this dynamic city. With so much to uncover, here are a few things you must do while in Hiroshima.
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum
As the heavens opened during the impending typhoon, the exhibition at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum became all the more moving. Hearing how so many perished from drinking contaminated water or from thirst when the bomb dropped, was poignant given the amount of rain plummeting down during my visit. The 120,000 sqm site also includes the Hiroshima Peace Park and UNESCO-listed A-Bomb Dome, the former Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall that miraculously still stands in ruins today is an inspiring reminder of the city’s resilience.
Hiroshima Orizuru Tower
In a defiant ode to peace, the continuous spiral slop winding 12 levels up to the top of the Hiroshima Orizuru Tower symbolises the city’s unbreakable spirit. Once you reach the top, passing by murals and interactive exhibitions to an open-air wooden observation deck, you’re rewarded with panoramic vistas, including the A-Bomb Dome across the road and the Hiroshima Hills in the distance. Many partake in the meditative practice of origami, which they release into the glass Orizuru Wall, scaling the full height of the building. Although there’s a lift, taking the slide down is a way more fun way to exit this iconic tower advocating peace.
Hiroshima’s Tasty Heart
Hiroshima’s metropolis heart reveals a burgeoning food scene. You can’t visit without trying the local delicacy of okonomiyaki, a savoury pancake cooked teppanyaki style with a mix of noodles, cabbage, sauce and meat or seafood. It mightn’t look pretty, but what it lacks in appearance is compensated for in flavour. There’s much debate between the Osaka and Hiroshima varieties, and each restaurant serves its own version, with several claiming to have invented the dish. I doubt you’d go wrong at Okonomimura, a four-storey building with multiple restaurants dedicated to this tasty dish. I tried the original version at Okonomiyaki Nagata-Ya, across the river from the Peace Park. Despite the huge serving, my only regret was sharing this tasty concoction, as I could have easily devoured the whole thing myself.
Hiroshima is also famous for its oysters and there are plenty of restaurants serving this delicacy from the nearby Seto Inland Sea. Since Hiroshima has the largest production volume, many embark on an oyster-hop akin to a bar-hop, but if you don’t have the luxury of sampling their plump flesh in abundance, Mabui Hiroshima Oyster Bar in the city centre serves several varieties of raw oysters from around Japan. Don’t despair if you can’t stomach raw oysters, as they serve plenty of cooked dishes, including black squid ink linguini with seafood to rival anything you’d find on Italy’s Adriatic coast.
Hiroshima’s Nightlife
Visiting Hiroshima during Halloween, which coincided with the Yokogawa Zombie Night, unleashed hordes of weird and wonderful costumes in downtown Hiroshima, particularly around the busy Yokogawa shopping precinct. It certainly made bar-hopping even more interesting as you never knew who you’d encounter behind the discreet entrances leading to narrow staircases with obscure-sounding names, often in Japanese. However, the Pub and Bar PIC was an obvious choice for cocktails as colourful as the spooky characters roaming the streets.
Top Note continues to be featured on many listicles, and rightly so, including the 50 Best Discovery list. It’s so fancy that the doorman deliberated whether he would let in our dishevelled selves who had been out in the rain all day. Once we were eventually welcomed in, our windswept appearance was all forgiven while we propped up at the sumptuous bar, savouring naughty treats and locally distilled Sakurao Gin cocktails crafted from an abundance of botanicals.
If you’re up for a big night, head to the shiny lights of Nagarekawa for traditional izakayas (traditional drinking restaurants), nightclubs, karaoke bars and Japan’s notorious hostess clubs, where you’ll be obliged to buy drinks in exchange for female company.
If you’re looking for something more wholesome, Yokogawa Shopping Arcade and Hondori Shopping Street opens nightly with cafes, specialty shops, pachinko arcades and department stores, including Don Quijote. This multi-levelled discount department store bursting to the brim sells everything you can imagine and many quirky other items you didn’t know existed.
Miyajima Island
Japan’s famous floating Great Torii Gate and Itsukushima Shrine on the shoreline of Miyajima Island is only a 30-minute ferry ride from the terminal next to the Hiroshima Peace Park. Of course, getting a selfie in front of the tomato-red gate is mandatory, preferably at low tide so you can wade out to it or at high tide for a shimmering reflection in the inlet. But to visit Miyajima Island and only admire the shrine and gate would be a travesty.
Delve inland and explore the Omotesando Shopping Arcade for more oysters, the maple-leaf-shaped cakes filled with a red-bean paste called momiji manjú, traditional cafes and souvenir shops.
Head to the five-storey pagoda and Senjókaku Hall, and then upwards to the magical Daishó-in Temple, reached via a staircase lined with over 500 Buddha statues – all with unique facial expressions and, curiously, many with knitted hats. Once at the top, enter the candle-lit Henjo Cave, spin the prayer wheels and take a moment to contemplate the tranquillity.
If time permits, follow the hiking trails to the top of Mount Misen or take the ropeway. If you’re lucky to have more days to spare, stay overnight in a traditional ryokan and enjoy the serenity once the day-trippers have left.
No matter how you spend your time on Miyajima Island, you will have the pleasure of hanging out with dozens of tame Sika deer unbothered by the daily invasion of tourists.
Carmen Jenner was a guest of All Nippon Airways (ANA), RIHGA Royal Hotel Hiroshima and Japan National Tourism Organisation.
Where is Hiroshima: Hiroshima is the capital of the prefecture of the same name in the Chugoku region in Japan’s southwest.
How to get to Hiroshima: You can reach Hiroshima by train or plane via Tokyo. ANA flies between Tokyo and Perth or Sydney several times a week. I highly recommend splurging on business class for the flatbed and extensive gourmet meal, so you arrive fresh if flying overnight. If the budget doesn’t extend that far, the spacious seats and tasty menu in economy class offer a smooth landing into Tokyo.
Where to stay in Hiroshima: Hiroshima has countless accommodation options ranging from international chains to local favourites, such as the RIHGA Royal Hotel Hiroshima. I loved the location as everything I’ve listed (and much more) can be reached on foot from this vast hotel. My room was spacious, which isn’t that common in Japan, and the views of the inlet and surrounding mountains offered a wonderful retreat from the city bustle below.
How to win free flights to Tokyo: If this article inspired you to visit Hiroshima or any other destination within Japan, you could win economy tickets from Perth or Sydney to Tokyo between 1st April and 30 September 2025 by clicking here.