Getting Around Hiroshima

Hiroshima Electric Railway (Hiroden) runs Japan’s largest streetcar network, and for visitors it is the main way around Hiroshima. Since August 2025 the streetcars from the station run into the second floor of the rebuilt Hiroshima Station building and take a new, more direct route across the river towards the centre, so check the platform board for your line number.

• Line 2 (Hiroshima Station to Hiroden-Miyajimaguchi): through the city centre via Hatchobori, Kamiyacho and Genbaku Dome-mae, then out along the coast to the Miyajima ferry terminal. The full run takes about 70 minutes.
• Line 6 (Hiroshima Station to Eba): also via Hatchobori, Kamiyacho and Genbaku Dome-mae; the easiest line for the Peace Park, Hondori and the Genbaku Dome.
• Line 1 (Hiroshima Station to Hiroshima Port): via Kamiyacho and south through Kencho-mae to Ujina and the port, for ferries to Matsuyama, Etajima and the islands.
• Line 5 (Hiroshima Station to Hiroshima Port): the eastern route via Hijiyama, for the Museum of Contemporary Art.
• Lines 3, 7, 8 and 9: shorter routes serving Koi, Yokogawa, Eba and Hakushima. Line 9 is a short shuttle from Hatchobori to Hakushima.

The stops you will use most are Genbaku Dome-mae for the Dome and the north end of the Peace Park, Chuden-mae or Hondori for the shopping arcade and the south side of the park, Kamiyacho for the Hiroshima Bus Center, and Hatchobori for Okonomimura, Nagarekawa nightlife and Hiroshima Castle (a 15-minute walk north). For Shukkeien, get off at Shukkeien-mae on the Hakushima line or walk 10 minutes from Hatchobori.

Streetcars run every few minutes in the centre from about 6am to about 11pm; the last ones leave the station around 11pm. Board through the rear door and leave through the front, past the driver.

The adult fare is a flat 240 yen (children 120 yen), and you pay when you get off. There are no tickets: tap an IC card on the reader by the exit door or drop exact coins in the fare box next to the driver, which also changes 1,000-yen notes.

IC cards: ICOCA, Suica, Pasmo and the other nationwide IC cards work on the streetcars, city buses, JR and the Miyajima ferries. Buy ICOCA from a JR ticket machine at Hiroshima Station, or add Suica or ICOCA to an iPhone wallet. Hiroshima’s old local card, PASPY, has been retired, so visitors need nothing extra.

Hiroden 1-day passes: the 1 Day Streetcar Pass costs 700 yen (children 350 yen) and pays off from the third ride. The 1 Day Streetcar and Ferry Pass costs 1,000 yen (children 550 yen) and adds a round trip on the Miyajima Matsudai Kisen ferry, with the 100-yen Miyajima visitor tax included. It is not valid on JR trains or the JR ferry. Buy either at the transport information centre in Hiroshima Station, from streetcar drivers and conductors, or at major hotels. Hiroden also sells the Visit Hiroshima Tourist Pass, which bundles streetcars, buses and ferries across the prefecture for 1 to 3 days; check the current zones and prices on the Hiroden website.

The maths for a Miyajima day by streetcar: station to Miyajimaguchi and back is 480 yen, the Matsudai ferry round trip with tax about 500 yen, so the 1,000-yen pass breaks even and every extra city ride is a saving.

The Hiroshima Sightseeing Loop Bus, called Meipuru-pu, is run by JR Bus Chugoku from Hiroshima Station. Since 18 July 2026 it runs a single simplified route: Hiroshima Prefectural Art Museum (next to Shukkeien), Hiroshima Castle, the Hiroshima Museum of Art, Genbaku Dome-mae, Peace Memorial Park and Namiki-dori, then back to the station. The open-windowed buses are useful because they reach the castle and the art museums, which are a walk from the streetcar.

A 1-day pass costs 600 yen and is sold at the transport information office in Hiroshima Station; single rides are paid by IC card or cash on board. Japan Rail Pass holders have been able to ride free because JR Bus runs it; confirm at the counter before you rely on it. Buses run roughly every 15 to 30 minutes in the daytime only.

There are four ways to reach Miyajima. Every adult landing on the island pays a 100-yen visitor tax, collected with your ferry ticket or at a machine.

JR trains to Miyajimaguchi leave Hiroshima Station every 10 to 20 minutes; take any local or rapid heading for Iwakuni or Tokuyama. From Miyajimaguchi station it is a three-minute walk to the ferry terminal. The JR ferry sails every 15 minutes or so, and in the daytime its route swings close to the great torii of Itsukushima Shrine; stand on the right side going out. The Miyajima Matsudai Kisen ferry leaves from the same terminal on a similar timetable and is a minute’s walk from the Hiroden streetcar stop.

The World Heritage Sea Route (run by Aqua Net) leaves from the Motoyasu Bridge pier on the edge of the Peace Memorial Park, cruises down the river past the city and crosses the bay to Miyajima. Book online or at the pier; boats run about hourly. River tides sometimes force cancellations or a route change, so have a backup plan for the return.

Hiroshima Station is on the Sanyo shinkansen between Shin-Osaka and Hakata. The shinkansen platforms are on the north side; the streetcars and most city buses leave from the south side.

The Japan Rail Pass rule: the national pass covers Hikari, Sakura and Kodama trains but not the Nozomi or Mizuho. Sakura and Hikari trains run frequently from Hiroshima to Shin-Osaka and Hakata, adding only 5 to 15 minutes. If you want a Nozomi or Mizuho, you must buy the special Nozomi Mizuho Ticket on top of the pass: about 4,170 yen Shin-Osaka to Hiroshima, 4,960 yen Shin-Osaka to Hakata and 6,500 yen Tokyo to Hiroshima. JR West’s regional passes below have no such restriction on the sections they cover.

For seat types, oversized-baggage reservations and the national pass maths, see Japan trains and the JR Pass.

Hiroshima Airport sits on a hilltop about 50 km east of the city. The limousine bus to Hiroshima Station (shinkansen exit) leaves from stop 2 outside arrivals, roughly every 15 to 30 minutes, takes about 45 to 55 minutes and costs about 1,450 to 1,500 yen; IC cards are accepted. Some buses continue to the Hiroshima Bus Center at Kamiyacho, closer to the Peace Park. JR Pass holders can take a short local bus to JR Shiraichi station instead and ride the Sanyo Line into the city, about an hour in total. A taxi costs well over 10,000 yen. Fog occasionally diverts flights, so allow slack for a connection.

Iwakuni Kintaikyo Airport, 50 minutes west by JR, has flights from Tokyo and suits trips that start with Miyajima or Iwakuni.

Highway buses leave from the Hiroshima Bus Center in Kamiyacho and from Hiroshima Station for Matsue, Izumo, Fukuoka, Osaka and overnight to Tokyo. Ferries and the Superjet from Hiroshima Port, at the end of streetcar lines 1, 3 and 5, cross to Kure and Matsuyama on Shikoku.

Day trips by train: Iwakuni is about 50 minutes west on the JR Sanyo Line, then a 15 to 20-minute bus to Kintaikyo. Kure is 35 to 50 minutes on the JR Kure Line. Saijo, for sake, is about 35 minutes east by JR. For Onomichi take the shinkansen to Fukuyama and a JR local back west (about 1 hour total), or the JR Sanyo Line all the way (about 1h20). For Okunoshima take the shinkansen to Mihara, the JR Kure Line to Tadanoumi and the ferry.

Taxis wait at both sides of Hiroshima Station and around Hatchobori. Flagfall is around 600 to 700 yen, the station to the Peace Park about 1,500 to 2,000 yen, and the GO app works. No tipping.

Bikes: the city is flat, with riverside paths, and the Peacecle bike-share has docks around the centre. Ride on the left and do not park outside the docks.

Luggage: coin lockers at Hiroshima Station and Miyajimaguchi cost about 400 to 800 yen a day and fill by mid-morning in peak season. Do not drag big cases onto the streetcars at rush hour; send them ahead by takkyubin from your hotel, or leave them at the station.