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Hiroshima & Miyajima
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Hiroshima & Miyajima

The Peace Park, and the Floating Torii of Miyajima

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2 daysIdeal stay₹6,050From / night₹2,120Food / day₹360Entry

The city destroyed by the atomic bomb on 6 August 1945 is now green and lively: the A-Bomb Dome, the Peace Memorial Park and its museum are sobering and essential. Forty minutes away by train and JR ferry, Miyajima island's vermilion torii of Itsukushima Shrine stands in the sea at high tide, with deer, a ropeway up Mount Misen and maple valleys. Miyajima charges a ¥100 visitor tax on the ferry fare. Try Hiroshima's layered okonomiyaki.

Highlights

  • A-Bomb Dome
  • Peace Memorial Museum
  • Children's Peace Monument and its paper cranes
  • Itsukushima Shrine's floating torii
  • Ropeway and hike up Mount Misen
  • Daisho-in temple
  • Miyajima's grilled oysters and momiji manju
  • Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki
  • Shukkei-en garden

Things to do

  • Peace Memorial Park, A-Bomb Dome & museumMorning · 3h
  • Train and JR ferry to Miyajima; Itsukushima ShrineMorning · 3h
  • Mount Misen ropeway & summit walkAfternoon · 3h
  • Okonomiyaki dinner at OkonomimuraEvening · 1h 30m
  • Shukkei-en garden & Hiroshima CastleAfternoon · 2h

Tours & tickets

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When to go

Best time: March – May, October – November

Worth knowing

Cherry Blossom Peak: Prices and Crowds

Late March to mid-April is the most expensive and crowded time of year: hotels cost up to two or three times their usual rate (Kyoto most of all) and sell out months ahead, and the famous parks and temples are packed. Book rooms four to six months out, and visit the big sights at opening time.

Heads up

Golden Week Crowds (29 April – 5 May)

Golden Week is a run of national holidays from 29 April to 5 May: shinkansen and domestic flights sell out, hotels raise prices, and sights are packed. Book transport and rooms early, or plan around those dates.

Heads up

Obon Holiday Rush (mid-August)

Around 13–16 August Japan travels home for Obon: trains and flights are full (Nozomi trains ran reserved seats only at Obon 2026), and resort hotels charge peak rates. Reserve seats for every long journey that week.

Heads up

New Year Closures (29 Dec – 3 Jan)

Over the New Year holiday many museums, castles, gardens and small restaurants close from about 29 December to 3 January, while the big shrines are packed for the first visit of the year. Check opening days before you plan a sight for those dates.

Heads up

Rainy Season (Tsuyu)

From early June to mid or late July it rains most days, often all day, on Honshu and Kyushu: carry an umbrella, keep outdoor plans flexible, and expect landslide warnings to close mountain roads and some railways after heavy downpours. Hydrangeas are in flower and the crowds are thinner.

Heads up

Typhoon Season

Typhoons reach Kyushu and Honshu from August to October, worst in September. A direct hit stops shinkansen, flights and ferries for a day and closes sights; most pass within 24-48 hours. Check forecasts in the days before travel and keep a spare day before an international flight.

Heads up

Summer Heat and Humidity

Late July and August are often 35 °C and very humid in Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and the west, and heatstroke alerts are common. Sightsee early and late, drink water and take breaks indoors; Hokkaido and the mountains are cooler.

  • Cherry blossom (hanami) — Cherry trees flower for about a week, from late March in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka to mid-April in the Alps towns and late April in Sendai; Okinawa's come in January and Hokkaido's in early May. Parks fill with picnics under the trees. It is the dearest and most crowded time of year: book hotels four to six months ahead, and expect Kyoto rooms at two or three times the usual price.
  • Autumn leaves (koyo) — The maples turn red from late September in Hokkaido, through October in Nikko and the Alps, to mid-November to early December in Kyoto, Nara and Tokyo. Kyoto's temples open at night with lit-up gardens; trains, buses and hotels are as full as in cherry-blossom season.
  • Golden Week — Four public holidays in a week, when much of Japan travels: shinkansen and domestic flights sell out, hotel prices rise, and sights are packed. Avoid travelling between cities on the first and last days.
  • Obon — The festival of the ancestors, around 13-16 August: families travel home, shinkansen and flights sell out (Nozomi trains ran reserved seats only at Obon 2026), and there are Bon dances and lantern floats in towns across Japan.
  • New Year (Shogatsu) · 31 Dec — Japan's biggest holiday: temples ring their bells 108 times at midnight on 31 December and millions make the first shrine visit (hatsumode), Meiji Jingu and Fushimi Inari above all. Many museums, restaurants and offices close from about 29 December to 3 January; trains run, but are full around the start and end.
  • Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony — On the anniversary of the bombing, a ceremony in the Peace Park at 08:15, and in the evening thousands of paper lanterns are floated on the river by the A-Bomb Dome. Solemn and moving; hotels fill.