Hiroshima: What to Book Before You Go (2026)
Most visitors give Hiroshima one or two days: the Peace Memorial Park and museum, then the ferry to Miyajima. Apart from the museum's early and late slots, nothing here needs a reservation.
The one thing to book is a Peace Memorial Museum web ticket if you want to go early in the morning or late in the day: those slots are web-reservation only. Everything else, including the Miyajima ferry, is pay-on-the-day.
Some links on this page are affiliate links. We say when buying from the official site or at the counter is just as good or cheaper.
Do I need to book anything in Hiroshima?
Only the museum, and only for some hours. The museum's own site says web tickets can sell out, that you may still wait when it is crowded, and that buying on the day can take a while. It recommends an advance web ticket.
The official web ticket is ¥200. The museum's own site also links to the Klook ticket. Affiliate link.
Full details on times, queues and the congestion cameras: Peace Memorial Museum tickets →
How do I get to Hiroshima?
Shinkansen from Tokyo
Direct Nozomi trains run (for example Tokyo 11:21 → Hiroshima 15:15). ¥19,760 for a reserved seat.
Shinkansen from Osaka
Shin-Osaka → Hiroshima by Nozomi, ¥10,950. Works as a day trip or with a night.
Hiroshima Airport
Limousine bus to Hiroshima Station (Shinkansen exit), ¥1,500. The Visit Hiroshima Tourist Pass is sold at the airport.
From Fukuoka (Hakata)
Nozomi and Mizuho run Hakata → Hiroshima → Shin-Osaka, so Hiroshima fits between Kyushu and Kansai.
Is a rail pass worth it for Hiroshima?
It depends on where you come from. From Tokyo, a return trip alone is ¥39,520, while the 7-day JR Pass is ¥50,000 on the official site, and JR Pass holders need an extra ¥6,500 ticket for each Nozomi ride Tokyo–Hiroshima. Add your other long rides and compare before you buy.
Kansai-Hiroshima Area Pass
¥17,000, 5 days. Shinkansen Shin-Osaka–Hiroshima, Kansai JR lines, the HARUKA airport train and the JR Miyajima ferry. A plain return Osaka–Hiroshima is ¥21,900, so it pays for itself on that alone.
Affiliate linkJapan Rail Pass
¥50,000 for 7 days on the official site. Check your exact trips first.
How do I get around Hiroshima city?
1 Day Streetcar Pass
¥700. Pays off after three rides.
1 Day Streetcar and Ferry Pass
¥1,000, including the ¥100 Miyajima visitor tax. The ferry is Matsudai Kisen only, not the JR ferry.
Visit Hiroshima Tourist Pass
1 day ¥1,000, 2 days ¥1,500, 3 days ¥2,000. Streetcars, both Miyajima ferries, city buses and the loop bus. Not JR trains.
Which one fits your plan: Hiroshima passes compared →
How do I do Miyajima from Hiroshima?
- Get to Miyajimaguchi. JR train from Hiroshima Station, about 28 min, or the Hiroden streetcar to Hiroden-Miyajima-guchi.
- Pay the ¥100 visitor tax with your ferry fare. It is charged once per visit, on top of the ferry.
- Take the JR ferry if you can. JR departures from Miyajimaguchi between 9:10 and 16:10 pass close to the Great Torii. The JR Pass and JR-West passes cover it.
- Visit Itsukushima Shrine. ¥300, cash only. 6:30–17:30 until Nov 30, 6:30–17:00 in December.You will want maps and the ferry timetable on your phone all day. A Japan eSIM is set up before you fly.Compare Japan eSIMs on Klook ↗
More on ferries, tides and the ropeway: Miyajima guide → · A day in Hiroshima and Miyajima →
Should I take a tour instead?
You don't need one. The streetcar and ferry run without booking, and nothing needs a reservation except the museum's early and late slots. A tour makes sense if you have only one day, are coming from Osaka and back, or want a guide to explain the history.
Peace Park and Miyajima bus tour
Covers the Peace Memorial Park and Itsukushima Shrine in one day. Compare the price with doing it yourself: the ¥200 museum, the ferry and the ¥300 shrine fee.
Affiliate linksOn your own
Streetcar to the Peace Park in the morning, JR to Miyajimaguchi after lunch. A Visit Hiroshima Tourist Pass covers the streetcar and the ferry.
When is the best time to visit?
What if…?
…the museum web tickets are sold out?
Go in the middle of the day and buy at the counter, or watch the museum's live congestion cameras before you set off. The early and late slots are web-only.
…I have big suitcases?
Leave them in a station locker, or send them ahead to your next hotel. Luggage delivery in Japan →
…I'm coming from Kyoto or Osaka just for the day?
It works: about 1 h 25 min each way from Shin-Osaka. Start early, do the Peace Park first and Miyajima after lunch.
What we checked
Peace Memorial Museum (hpmmuseum.jp): ¥200 adult, opening hours by season, reservation-only hours, closures and the advice to buy a web ticket.
JR West's pass list still showed the Kansai-Hiroshima Area Pass; its page listed ¥17,000 for 5 days, with the Shin-Osaka–Hiroshima Shinkansen, HARUKA and the JR Miyajima ferry.
JR Miyajima Ferry and Miyajima Matsudai Kisen: the ¥100 visitor tax, crossing time, timetable and that JR passes cover the JR ferry. The JR ferry's two pages showed different fares, so we left the fare out.
Hiroden: the ¥240 city fare and its 1-day passes. JR West: the Kansai-Hiroshima Area Pass. JR Central: the Nozomi fares.
Hiroshima Airport's timetable listed ¥1,500 for the limousine bus and about 50 minutes from the airport to Hiroshima Station's Shinkansen exit. JR Miyajima Ferry gave about 28 minutes by train from Hiroshima Station to Miyajimaguchi.
Going on from Hiroshima?
Hiroshima sits between Osaka and Fukuoka on the same Shinkansen line, so it is easy to break the journey here.
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