Hiroshima and Miyajima: A One- to Two-Day Guide

The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum documents the 1945 atomic bombing directly and unflinchingly — some exhibits are genuinely difficult, and that's the point. Budget at least 90 minutes, more if you want to read through the survivor accounts.

The Atomic Bomb Dome, left standing as it was, is a short walk from the museum and is usually the first thing visitors photograph — it's more affecting in person than in photos.

Miyajima Island is roughly a 40–50 minute JR train-and-ferry trip from central Hiroshima (about 25–30 minutes on the JR Sanyo Line to Miyajimaguchi, then a short walk and a 10-minute ferry crossing) — the streetcar covers the same route but takes closer to 80 minutes door to door, so the train is the faster option. Itsukushima Shrine's floating torii gate is the postcard image, but whether it's actually surrounded by water depends entirely on the tide — check tide tables if the classic photo matters to you.

Wild deer wander freely around the island and are used to people, but they will try to eat paper (maps, tickets) out of bags — keep anything paper zipped away.

Hiroshima's version layers noodles into the okonomiyaki rather than mixing everything into a batter like Osaka's style — locals take the distinction seriously, so it's worth trying both if you're visiting both cities. Okonomimura, a multi-floor building of okonomiyaki counters, is a common first stop.