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City walk Hiroshima — Peace Park & Miyajima, Japan

Hiroshima: Peace Memorial Park to Miyajima

A day in two halves — the memorial park and museum in central Hiroshima in the morning, then a short ferry to the island of Itsukushima and its shrine in the afternoon.

Hiroshima: Peace Memorial Park to Miyajima
Photo: Balon Greyjoy · CC0
Duration
1 day
Distance
8 km
Walking time (est.)
2 h 45 min
Difficulty
Easy
Best season
April–May and October–November; the June rainy season and humid midsummer are the least comfortable

Walking

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    Getting there and back

    Start
    Peace Memorial Park
    Finish
    Mount Misen foothills, Itsukushima

    One-way: plan your trip back

    Directions to the start Back from the finish

    This route pairs the two places most visitors to Hiroshima come for. The morning is spent in Peace Memorial Park, built on the flat delta ground that the atomic bomb of 6 August 1945 destroyed, and in the museum that documents the bombing. The afternoon crosses Hiroshima Bay to Itsukushima — usually called Miyajima — where a Shinto shrine stands over the water below a wooded sacred mountain.

    The walking is flat and easy, on paved paths and island lanes, about 8 km in total across the day. The distance is not the constraint; the museum and the ferry are.

    Getting there. Peace Memorial Park is reached from Hiroshima Station by tram in about 15–20 minutes. For Miyajima, take the JR Sanyo Line to Miyajimaguchi Station and the ferry from the pier beside it; the crossing takes about ten minutes. There is also a sightseeing boat down the river from the park itself.

    Permits & tickets. No permit needed. The park grounds and the A-Bomb Dome are free and open at all hours. The Peace Memorial Museum charges a small admission. The ferry and Itsukushima Shrine each charge a fare or fee.

    Good to know:

    Elevation profile

    Highest point
    462 m Day 1
    Lowest point
    0 m Day 1
    Total descent
    652 m

    Point at the profile, or focus it and use the arrow keys, to see that spot on the map.

    Terrain heights along a straight line between each day’s stops, not along the footpath, so a pass or a switchback the path takes can be missing. Descent and walking times use the same line.

    Elevation data: Terrain Tiles (Mapzen, AWS Open Data)

    Day by day

    DayDistanceAscentDescent (est.)Walking time (est.)
    Day 1 Hardest dayThe memorial park, then the island
    Distance8 kmAscentNot recordedDescent (est.)652 mWalking time (est.)2 h 45 min

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    Day 1

    The memorial park, then the island

    Peace Memorial Park → Mount Misen foothills, Itsukushima 8 km 2 h 45 min
    Navigate this day

    Central Hiroshima in the morning, Hiroshima Bay at midday, and Itsukushima in the afternoon.

    Drinking water

    Water
    Drinking water 70 m from stop 1
    Drinking water 140 m from stop 1
    Drinking water 270 m from stop 1
    Drinking water 50 m from stop 2
    Drinking water 100 m from stop 2

    Places mapped by volunteers on OpenStreetMap; opening times and taps change, so check before relying on one. © OpenStreetMap contributors

    Segments

    1. Peace Memorial Park 0.8 km Map

      Genbaku Dome-mae tram stop → Cenotaph and Peace Flame

      Paved park paths

      A park in the centre of the city, laid out by the architect Kenzō Tange on ground that was a merchant district before the bombing. It holds more than fifty memorials and monuments, among them the arched cenotaph and the Children's Peace Monument. Entry is free and the grounds are open at all hours. Allow about an hour.

    2. The A-Bomb Dome
      The A-Bomb Dome 0.4 km Map

      Cenotaph → Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Genbaku Dome)

      Riverside path

      The Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall stood close to the point above which the bomb detonated. Its walls and the steel frame of its dome remained standing and have been kept in that state. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996. It is viewed from the path around it; the ruin itself is not entered.

      About this place

      The Hiroshima Peace Memorial , originally the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall, and now commonly called the Genbaku Dome, Atomic Bomb Dome or A-Bomb Dome , is part of Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, Japan, and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996.

      Read more on Wikipedia Photo: Oilstreet · CC BY 2.5
    3. Peace Memorial Museum
      Peace Memorial Museum 0.6 km Map

      A-Bomb Dome → Peace Memorial Museum

      Paved park paths

      The museum at the southern end of the park documents the bombing and its effects through objects, photographs and survivor testimony. Admission is small. Allow at least 90 minutes; many visitors take longer.

      About this place

      The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum is a museum in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, in central Hiroshima, Japan, dedicated to documenting the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in World War II.

      Read more on Wikipedia Photo: Wiiii · CC BY-SA 3.0
    4. Ferry to Miyajima
      Ferry to Miyajima 0.5 km Map

      Miyajimaguchi Station pier → Miyajima ferry terminal

      Ferry crossing and pier approach

      Itsukushima, popularly called Miyajima, sits in the northwest of Hiroshima Bay and belongs to the city of Hatsukaichi. The crossing from Miyajimaguchi takes about ten minutes. Wild deer move freely around the terminal and the streets beyond it.

      About this place

      Itsukushima (厳島) is an island in the western part of the Inland Sea of Japan, located in the northwest of Hiroshima Bay. It is popularly known as Miyajima (宮島), which in Japanese means "Shrine Island". The island is one of Hayashi Gahō's Three Views of Japan specified in 1643. Itsukushima is part of the city of Hatsukaichi in Hiroshima Prefecture. The island was part of the former town of Miyajima before the 2005 merger with Hatsukaichi.

      Read more on Wikipedia Photo: Bernard Gagnon · CC BY-SA 3.0
    5. Itsukushima Shrine and the floating torii
      Itsukushima Shrine and the floating torii 1.2 km Map

      Miyajima ferry terminal → Itsukushima Shrine

      Seafront promenade

      A Shinto shrine built out over the water on piles, best known for the vermilion torii standing offshore, which appears to float at high tide. The complex is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and several of its buildings are designated National Treasures. A small entry fee applies.

      About this place

      Itsukushima Shrine is a Shinto shrine on the island of Itsukushima, best known for its "floating" torii. It is in the city of Hatsukaichi, in Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan, accessible from the mainland by ferry at Miyajimaguchi Station. The shrine complex is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the Japanese government has designated several buildings and possessions as National Treasures.

      Read more on Wikipedia Photo: redlegsfan21 · CC BY-SA 2.0
    6. Mount Misen foothills
      Mount Misen foothills 1.5 km Map

      Itsukushima Shrine → Momijidani Park and the ropeway base

      Valley paths and shrine lanes

      Behind the shrine the island rises to Mount Misen, the sacred mountain at the island's centre and its high point at 535 m, inside the shrine's World Heritage area. This route stays low, following the maple-lined valley of Momijidani Park to the ropeway base — climbing the summit is a longer half-day of its own.

      About this place

      Mount Misen is the sacred mountain on Itsukushima in Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima, Japan, and is the highest mountain on the island at 535 m; it is situated within the World Heritage area of Itsukushima Shrine.

      Read more on Wikipedia Photo: As6022014 · CC BY-SA 3.0

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