City guide · 広島 Hiroshima
Hiroshima
A city of peace reborn from ruins, and Miyajima out at sea
In Hiroshima, give one day to the Peace Memorial Park and one to Miyajima: on one side heavy history, on the other the torii standing in the sea as the tide rises and falls.
History
How the city came to be
Hiroshima was born in 1589, when the Sengoku daimyō Mōri Terumoto built a castle on the delta of the Ōta River. After Sekigahara, Tokugawa Ieyasu took most of the Mōri lands. At 8:15 a.m. on 6 August 1945 the US dropped the atomic bomb 'Little Boy' on Hiroshima; the Atomic Bomb Dome was the only building left standing near the hypocentre. Hiroshima was rebuilt after the war and is now the largest city in the Chūgoku region.
- 1168Taira no Kiyomori built Itsukushima Shrine on a grand scale
- 1589Mōri Terumoto built a castle and founded Hiroshima
- 1600After Sekigahara, Fukushima Masanori was granted Aki Province
- 1945Atomic bombing on 6 August
- 1955Sadako Sasaki died, and the paper crane became a symbol of peace
- 1996The Atomic Bomb Dome and Itsukushima Shrine became World Heritage Sites in the same year
Stories
Stories of the city
History · Itsukushima Shrine
Taira no Kiyomori's shrine on the sea
Itsukushima Shrine's present scale is usually credited to Taira no Kiyomori: as governor of Aki Province in 1168 he funded major construction, and a torii has stood in the sea here since that year (the present one was built in 1875). The Taira controlled trade with Song China across the Seto Inland Sea, and Miyajima became the Taira clan's guardian shrine.
History · Hiroshima okonomiyaki
Issen yōshoku after the atomic bomb
In the Taishō era, a cheap snack called 'issen yōshoku' was popular in Kyoto and the Kansai region: a thin pancake sprinkled with spring onions and drizzled with Worcestershire sauce. After the atomic bomb of August 1945, this cheap snack became a way for surviving Hiroshima residents to fill their stomachs. Later people layered on cabbage, pork and fried noodles, developing it into today's Hiroshima okonomiyaki.
History · Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and the Atomic Bomb Dome
The only building left standing
The building, designed by the Czech architect Jan Letzel, was completed in 1915 as Hiroshima Prefecture's commercial exhibition hall. On 6 August 1945 the first atomic bomb ever used in war was dropped on Hiroshima; three days later Nagasaki was also bombed, and nine days later Japan surrendered. Because it was built of stone and steel, it became the only building left standing near the hypocentre, and it was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1996.
History · Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and the Atomic Bomb Dome
Sadako and a thousand paper cranes
Sadako Sasaki was two when the atomic bomb exploded over Hiroshima, and ten years later she was diagnosed with leukaemia. In hospital she folded more than a thousand paper cranes; she died in October 1955, aged just 12. The 'Children's Peace Monument' in the park was built in memory of her and all the child victims, and visitors from around the world still offer paper cranes there.
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Must see
Places you shouldn’t miss
Local life
Food and local daily life
Before you go
Rules to know in Hiroshima
Take off your shoes when you see a genkan (entrance step)
- Take off your shoes at the entrance of homes, some restaurants, temples and hot-spring facilities
- If unsure, look for a shoe rack or slippers at the entrance
- Stepping onto tatami or indoor wooden floors in shoes
It is seen as very rude.
Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: JNTO: Japanese etiquette
No phone calls on trains and the shinkansen; queue to board
- Put your phone on silent; on the shinkansen, take calls in the area between carriages
- Queue at the marked spots on either side of the train door, and let people off before you get on
- Give priority seats to older people, pregnant women and passengers with limited mobility
- Talking on the phone or playing sound aloud in the train
Not illegal, but you will get looks and a reminder from the conductor.
Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: JNTO: Japanese etiquette
If you have tattoos, check the rules before using a hot spring
- Before you go, email the facility to ask about its rules
- Small to medium tattoos can be covered with skin-coloured patches (some onsen sell them)
- Choose a tattoo-friendly onsen, or book a private bath (kashikiri-buro) in advance
- Ignoring 'no tattoos' signs and getting in anyway
Most onsen do not allow guests with tattoos to bathe, but rules vary by facility and are often more relaxed for foreign visitors.
Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: JNTO: tattoo rules and etiquette at onsen
Wash your body thoroughly before getting into a hot spring
- Before getting in, sit on the small stool in the washing area and wash your whole body with the shower or a bucket, leaving no soap
- Leave your small towel at the edge of the bath or fold it on your head
- Getting into the bath without rinsing first
- Dipping your towel in the bath water
- Leaving a used towel in the washing area
Not illegal, but other guests and the staff will see it as very rude. Most onsen require you to be fully naked in the bathing area.
Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: JNTO: a beginner's guide to onsen
There is no tipping in Japan
- Say thank you with 'arigatō gozaimashita'
- Pressing loose change on staff
Japan is a no-tipping country and bills usually include service; if you press a tip on staff, some will politely refuse.
Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: JNTO: Japanese table manners
An izakaya's otoshi is a cover charge
- Accept the otoshi as an appetiser
- Arguing with staff about it or asking for it to be taken back
There is no penalty: before you order at an izakaya, a small dish of otoshi always arrives. It doubles as the cover charge and cannot be chosen or swapped.
Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: JNTO: drinking in Japan