What makes Hiroshima extraordinary isn’t just what happened here. It’s how the city responded. With gardens. With art. With spaces that ask you to feel, not just to see. There’s a quiet, dignified beauty to Hiroshima, a city that has turned deep scars into spaces of peace, reflection, and renewal.
In this three-day itinerary, we invite you to experience Hiroshima beyond the expected. We’ll take you deeper than the guidebooks go: to private sake tastings in historic breweries, to the inner sanctum of Itsukushima Shrine, to quiet gardens where a tea master waits with fresh wagashi. This is Hiroshima, not just the city where the first atomic bomb hits, but a city that advocates peace and a way to witness the world differently.
Start your Hiroshima journey at the Peace Memorial Park. The park has been dedicated to the victims of the atomic bomb and the advocacy of world peace since 1954. Before the bombing, the area served as Hiroshima’s political and commercial centre, the reason why it was targeted. After the war, it was decided that the site would not be redeveloped, but instead preserved as a space for peace and memorial facilities.
Make your way first to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. The museum exhibits personal artefacts, survivor testimonies, and a vivid narrative of the events of August 6, 1945. The personal stories displayed at the museum are heartbreaking and show the real, human impact of the atomic bombing. It sends a powerful message against the use of nuclear weapons and encourages reflection on how we can build a more peaceful world.
Across is the Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims, a circular underground hall built to remember each individual who perished. Inside the hall, there’s a space for commemorating the deceased, a portrait corner where the names and portrait of the deceased are displayed, and a memoir reading room where you can watch memoirs and video testimonies of “hibakusha” (survivors of atomic bombing).
Next to it stands the Hiroshima Victims Memorial Cenotaph, a saddle-shaped monument that frames the Eternal Flame and aligns with the Atomic Bomb Dome in the distance. It’s shaped like an ancient arch to symbolise shelter for the victims' souls. The monument is inscribed with the words, "Let all the souls here rest in peace; For we shall not repeat the evil." At the centre of the monument lies the registry of those who died from the bombing. As of August 6, 2015, it contains 108 volumes with 297,684 names, including many unidentified. Each year, Hiroshima opens the registry to air it out as part of ongoing preservation.
Just a short walk away is the Children’s Peace Monument. This 9 m-high memorial was unveiled on May 5, 1958, in honor of Sadako Sasaki and the child victims of the atomic bombing. It features a bronze statue of Sadako holding a paper crane on top of a pedestal, with figures of a boy and girl on either side. Close to the monument you’ll find thousands of paper cranes sent from around the world as symbols of peace and remembrance.
Beneath the statue you’ll see a bronze crane wind chime and a peace bell hanging beneath. It is donated by Nobel laureate Hideki Yukawa, a Japanese theoretical physicist who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1949 "for his prediction of the existence of mesons on the basis of theoretical work on nuclear forces".
End the morning at the Atomic Bomb Dome, also known as the Genbaku Dome or A-Bomb Dome. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, it was once the Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall. It’s the only structure left standing near the bomb’s hypocenter, and its skeletal ruins have been preserved exactly as they were after the bombing. Take your time here, walk around the structure and reflect.
Also known as Carp Castle, the Hiroshima Castle was first built in 1589 by feudal lord Mōri Terumoto. It was destroyed by the atomic bomb and later reconstructed in 1958 as a museum. The museum features samurai-era historical exhibits and models. Climb to the top floor for panoramic views of the city.
Just next door is the Hiroshima Museum of Art. The museum houses a collection of about 300 pieces of European and Japanese modern art. You’ll find Exhibition of Impressionist works by Monet, Renoir and Van Gogh.
Cap the day off with a delicious okonomiyaki, Hiroshima’s most famous comfort dish. Okonomimura is a multi-storey building, home to more than 20 stalls dedicated to okonomiyaki. Each chef adds their own unique flavour and taste to okonomiyaki, but you can expect savoury layers of cabbage, noodles, egg, and seafood or pork, all cooked on teppan griddles.
Depart early from Hiroshima Port or Miyajimaguchi Station and take a 10-minute ferry ride to Miyajima Island, Japan’s most revered spiritual sanctuaries. As you approach the island, you’ll see a glimpse of the iconic Itsukushima Jinja torii gate seemingly floating on the water. Time your visit during high tide to catch that postcard worthy moment. If in case you time your visit during low tide you may walk right up to its massive vermilion pillars, both offer distinct and equally magical perspectives.
The Itsukushima Shrine is a national treasure which was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996. It’s built over water on stilts and consists of multiple buildings, including a prayer hall, main hall and noh theater stage, which are connected by boardwalks and supported by pillars above the sea.
Take a 3-minute walk to Senjokaku Pavilion, also known as "The Hall of a Thousand Tatami Mats." This unfinished wooden hall is open-air and weathered, a striking contrast to the more polished temples of the main cities in Japan. The reason for it being unfinished was because Toyotomi Hideyoshi (one of Japan’s most powerful warlords, also the one who commissioned the building of Senjokaku) died before construction could be completed. His successor, Tokugawa Ieyasu, chose not to continue construction, likely due to shifting political priorities or religious influences.
Complete your morning exploration in Miyajima at Daishoin Temple, located at the base of Mount Misen. It is one of the most important temples of Shingon Buddhism. Daisho-in Temple features a variety of buildings, statues and other religious objects. Be on the lookout for monks in meditation or early-morning rituals.
A short walk from Itsukushima Shrine, this museum is housed in a well-preserved Edo-period merchant residence, showcasing artifacts on the island’s maritime traditions, festivals, crafts, and daily life. For a more immersive experience, we can book a workshop on wood carving and calligraphy for you here.
Next, it’s time to satisfy your appetite with Miyajima’s fresh oysters. Take a 10-minute walk to Yakigaki No Hayashi, a beloved oyster house known for its grilled kaki (oysters), harvested fresh from the surrounding waters. Order a seasonal set menu featuring oysters served every way imaginable: raw, smoked, baked in butter, or steamed in sake. Pair your meal with a glass of chilled local junmai ginjo sake for the perfect seaside indulgence.
Just a stone’s throw away, wander through the Miyajima Omotesandō Shopping Street. The shopping street is lined with artisanal boutiques, confectionery shops, and traditional craft stalls. Look out for hand-carved rice scoops (shamoji), delicate momiji manju (maple-leaf shaped sweets), and handmade chopsticks engraved on the spot.
Your last day in Hiroshima begins away from the city’s centre, in the quiet, forested hills of Mitaki, Mitaki-dera. The temple dates back to the 9th century and is especially captivating during autumn when maple leaves ignite in crimson and gold. The temple’s three waterfalls gave it its name “mitaki” (meaning three waterfalls), and they’re considered sacred. There are several wooden buildings from the late Edo to early Meiji period that still stand, including halls, a bell tower, an Inari shrine, and a Sanki Gongen hall
Next, take a 14-minute drive back to the city and make a short detour to Hiroshima Toshogu Shrine. It enshrines the first Shōgun of the Tokugawa Shogunate, Tokugawa leyasu, the successor of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The shrine features brilliant vermilion gates, dragon carvings, and staircase framed by lanterns and cedar trees.
Return to the city centre and begin your afternoon at Shukkeien Garden, a beautifully curated Edo-period stroll garden whose name means “shrunken scenery” the perfect depiction of its miniature landscapes. Around the garden's main pond there are a number of tea houses which offer visitors ideal views of the surrounding scenery while enjoying a sip of tea.
Just across the road, visit the Hiroshima Prefectural Art Museum. The museum houses over 5,000 works, including art works tied to the Hiroshima region, Japanese and Asian crafts, and pieces from the 1920s–’30s such as Salvador Dalí’s Dream of Venus. The museum rotates its displays roughly four times a year and hosts about six special exhibitions annually, accompanied by lectures and performances.
Wrap up your Hiroshima journey with a gentle uphill stroll through Hijiyama Park. The park is best known to locals for its cherry blossoms and city views. It’s also home to the Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art, Japan’s first public museum dedicated to contemporary art, and Hiroshima City Manga Library. Both can be found when you reach the main portion of the park at the top.
Spring (March - May): Arguably the most beautiful time to visit Hiroshima. Cherry blossoms bloom across the city, especially at Shukkeien Garden, Hiroshima Castle Park, and along the banks of the Ota River. Festivals like the Hiroshima Flower Festival fill the streets with colour and music, and temperatures are mild which is ideal for strolling and visiting Miyajima island.
Pack light layers, a foldable umbrella, and walking shoes. Evenings can still be brisk in March.
Autumn (October - November): Autumn brings crisp air and a blaze of red and gold foliage to Hiroshima’s parks, temples, and mountain trails. Mitaki-dera and Hijiyama Park are particularly striking this time of year. Around this time is also sake brewing season, perfect for visiting Saijō’s breweries and ideal weather for cultural workshops and long walks along Miyajima’s best spots.
Pack a stylish coat or wrap, comfortable walking shoes, and a camera for foliage photography.
Hiroshima is a city with a tragic history and inspiring vision for the future. Amidst the weight of memory, Hiroshima offers grace. The kind found in lacquerware, slowly polished by hand. In the deliberate folding of a paper crane. In the first sip of sake crafted from generations of soft water and harder-earned hope.
This is not a destination that asks, “What did you do?”
It asks, “What did you feel?... and how did it change you?”
To walk through Hiroshima is to move through grace and gravity, and come out changed.
At Revigorate, we don’t just plan travel, we curate moments that move you. The kind that unfolds slowly, linger quietly, and return to you years later in memory and feeling. Your Hiroshima journey deserves that kind of care. Contact us today or give us a call at (+1 800 672 0517 | +351 289 009 580 | +44 808 189 0647) and let us craft it with you!
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