Hiroshima Castle Travel Guide: A Landmark That Brings Hiroshima’s History and Culture to Life

Admission and hours for the main keep are as follows.
It is closed December 29–31, and there may be temporary closures, so check the Official website before your visit.
Please also note that hours may vary by season.

Admission to Ninomaru is free.
Please note that its closed days differ from the main keep: December 29–January 2.

Today’s main keep has five stories and five levels.
The keep itself stands 26.6 m tall.
Including the stone base and the shachihoko roof ornaments, it reaches a height of Approx. 40 m.
Its exterior features shitami-itabari, with the lower part of the walls covered in black wooden boards.
The shachihoko tiles were modeled after the turret at the Sujigane Gomon Gate at Fukuyama Castle.
Until the Edo period, there were two three-story minor keeps, connected to the main keep by a watari-yagura corridor, forming a complex linked-style layout.
After it collapsed in wartime, a temporary keep was set up in 1951 for the Hiroshima National Sports Festival.
In 1953, it was designated a National Historic Site, and reconstruction was decided in time for the Hiroshima Reconstruction Exposition.
In 1958, it was rebuilt with only the top floor in wood, and the first through fourth floors in reinforced concrete.
Inside the main keep are exhibits on the castle’s structure and features, along with materials that share Hiroshima’s culture.
The fifth level is an observation room, offering panoramic views of Hiroshima City.

The Omote Gomon Gate, the entrance to Ninomaru, is a wooden yaguramon gate with a side door.
Its roof is an irimoya (hip-and-gable) style with traditional tiles, and it stands 10.61 m tall.
A Hira Yagura turret was also built on the right side, serving both to prevent entry into Hiroshima Castle and to allow for quick deployment in emergencies.
From outside, only the Hira Yagura is visible, but since troops were also stationed in the Tamon Yagura and Taiko Yagura, Omote Gomon can be considered one of the castle’s key defensive points.
If enemies advanced to the bridge over the inner moat, defenders could fire flanking shots from Hira Yagura and stop them at Omote Gomon.
The Hira Yagura recreates loopholes for firearms, and visitors can also tour the 68 m-long Tamon Yagura and the Taiko Yagura.
Inside are miniature models of the Taiko Yagura and Hira Yagura, along with information boards explaining each.
It was lost to war and reconstructed in 1991.

Ninomaru, designated as an Important Cultural Property like the main keep, was built as a umadashi for Honmaru (the main bailey).
An umadashi is a place that protects an entrance and serves as a base for preparing to go into battle.
In other words, it guarded the Naka Gomon Gate, the entrance to Honmaru, and helped prevent enemy attacks.
In 1945, it was caught in the atomic bombing, and everything except the stone walls was lost.
Restoration work began in 1989 and was completed in 1994, including the western wall.
No palace (a residence for high-ranking figures) was built here.
The buildings include only facilities needed for battle, such as Omote Gomon, Hira Yagura, Tamon Yagura, and Taiko Yagura, as well as a guardhouse, stable, and well.
Half of the site is open space, said to have been used as a gathering area in preparation for deployment.

A-bombed trees are trees that were within a 2 km radius of the atomic bomb’s hypocenter in Hiroshima and did not burn down.
There are 160 in Hiroshima City, and four remain at Hiroshima Castle.

The stone walls of the main keep’s base include stones from the time the castle was originally built.
The stone walls of Honmaru and Ninomaru together total 31,781 stones.
They use nozura-zumi, a method that stacks naturally shaped stones, and you can also see chisel-made groove-like marks.
Because stones from the coastline were used, clear traces of attached oyster shells remain.
In addition, the stone walls on the north side also have seal-like marks carved into them.
So far, 214 have been confirmed, but who carved them and why is unknown.
There are also partially collapsed stone walls that Fukushima Masanori attempted to repair.

Shukkeien Garden was created as a villa garden starting in 1620 by Asano Nagakira, lord of the Hiroshima Domain. In 1945, it was devastated by the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.
Restoration began in 1949 and took around 30 years to complete, leading to the garden you see today.
In the center of the garden is Sensui Pond, with islands called Tsuru-jima (Crane Island) and Kame-jima (Turtle Island), created with wishes for longevity. The pond’s water is brackish, a mix of fresh and seawater, and is home to fish such as mullet that live in seawater.
Wild birds also visit in search of prey.
Around the pond, teahouses, pavilions, mountains, rivers, and islands are skillfully arranged, and paths let you stroll through it as a kaiyu-style (strolling) garden.

The Atomic Bomb Dome was originally completed on April 5, 1915, as the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall, designed by Czech architect Jan Letzel.
However, during the atomic bombing, it was damaged at a close distance of 160 m from the hypocenter.
Its exposed steel framework and crumbling outer walls remain as they were at the time, and it came to be called the “Atomic Bomb Dome.”
It is a valuable building that conveys this tragic history to the present day.

A multi-purpose building next to the Atomic Bomb Dome, and a landmark tower in Hiroshima where you can enjoy views and experiences you can only find here. As a tourist area, it offers the product shop and cafe on the 1st floor, “Orizuru Square” and the “Orizuru Wall” on the 12th floor, and the rooftop observatory “Hiroshima Hill.”
The rooftop observatory is an airy, pleasant space with a wood deck where you can feel the warmth of the timber. In addition to Peace Memorial Park and the Atomic Bomb Dome, on clear days you can see as far as Mt. Misen in Miyajima.

Okonomiyaki Micchan Sohonten Orizuru Tower Branch is a location of the long-established Micchan Sohonten, where you can enjoy Hiroshima’s famous okonomiyaki, located on the first floor of Orizuru Tower.
Inside, there’s an 8 m-long teppan counter, and the lively feel of watching skilled chefs cook right in front of you has become a big draw.

Opened in 2013, Kakigoya Fukuro-machi Umihira Shoten is a city location directly affiliated with “Milky Tetsuo’s Kakigoya Ujina,” known as the original kakigoya (oyster hut).
It carries on the oyster hut’s sourcing methods and freshness standards.
It’s also known as a place where you can enjoy Hiroshima oysters year-round.

Oyster & Smoked BAR SANGO is located in the area near the West Exit of Hiroshima Station (commonly known as Ekinishi).
It’s an authentic oyster bar where you can enjoy seasonal brand oysters from across Japan, including Hiroshima oysters, prepared in many ways—raw, grilled, fried, steamed, and more.
A signature item is the “Raw Oyster Assortment (4 types).”
Served with Hiroshima lemon, it’s a dish that brings out the oysters’ natural creamy richness and briny flavor.

A historic inn located in Momijidani Park, surrounded by nature at the foot of Mt. Misen.
Along with single-story detached cottages (“hanare”) built as standalone units from the Taisho to Showa periods, it also offers a main building and a new building, so you can choose based on your preferences.
The detached hanare buildings have a special feel, having hosted members of the Imperial family as well as business and cultural figures.
The main building, built in the early Showa era, has unique room furnishings from room to room, and its location—where you can hear the sound of the Momiji River—is also part of its charm.

A long-established ryokan founded in 1902, in a great location about a 3-minute walk from Itsukushima Shrine.
A rare natural hot spring for Miyajima bubbles up on the property.
While valuing Miyajima’s traditions and history, it continues to evolve—adding, in February 2023, a semi-open-air hot spring guest room limited to one room per day, and Miyajima’s only rooftop lounge.

A 5-minute walk from Miyajima Pier and right in front of Omotesando Shopping Street, Itsukushima Iroha is a new kind of lodging that overturns the conventional image of ryokans and hotels.
Made with natural materials such as wood, stone, and washi paper, its refined interior features an upscale space lined with distinctive designer chairs.
A highlight is the two suites added during the 2022 renovation, each with a different atmosphere. The ocean-side “Suite Umi” boasts views from large windows that fill the room, overlooking the Otorii Gate of Itsukushima Shrine and the Seto Inland Sea.