Hiroshima Day 2: What to Do Beyond the Peace Park (From Someone With Family Here)

Quick answer: On your second day, see the Peace Memorial Museum early (book a timed web ticket) if you didn’t on day one, then walk to Hiroshima Castle’s grounds (the keep itself closed in March 2026) and Shukkeien Garden. Spend the evening eating your way through Hondori and Hatchobori: spicy tsukemen, soupless tantanmen, and okonomiyaki with oysters in season. Or use day 2 for a day trip: Miyajima, Kure, Onomichi or Rabbit Island.

My family is from Hiroshima, I’ve lived there, and I still go back three or more times a year. Most visitors give Hiroshima one day: the Atomic Bomb Dome, the Peace Park and the museum, then on to Miyajima. That’s understandable, but the city has more to offer — especially when it comes to food.

If you haven’t seen the Peace Memorial Museum yet

Don’t skip it. It’s one of the most important museums in Japan, and it’s busy.

• Go early or late. The museum is very crowded in the middle of the day. It opens at 7:30 (the first hour requires an online reservation) and stays open until 19:00 from September to November (18:00 in winter, later in August).
• Book a timed web ticket — 30-minute slots, up to 90 days ahead, in 15 languages. Even with a ticket you may wait.
• Admission: ¥200 for adults.
• Allow at least 1.5–2 hours.

Hiroshima Castle

Within walking distance north of the Peace Park. The original castle was destroyed by the atomic bomb; the keep you see was rebuilt in concrete in 1958.

Important for 2026: the keep closed to visitors on 22 March 2026 because the building has aged and isn’t safe inside. You can still see it from outside, and the city is studying rebuilding it in wood — but nothing has been decided.

What you can still visit:

• Ninomaru — reconstructed gate and turret buildings. Free. 9:00–16:30 from October to March (17:30 in summer).
• The castle grounds and moat, and Gokoku Shrine inside the grounds.

It’s a pleasant, quiet walk, especially in the morning.

Shukkeien Garden

A traditional Japanese garden around a pond, with small bridges, tea houses and paths designed to show miniature landscapes. Beautiful in autumn colours.

• Hours: 9:00–17:00 (mid-September to mid-March), 9:00–18:00 in summer.
• Fee: ¥350 for adults.
• Access: streetcar to Shukkeien-mae, or the Meipuru-pu sightseeing bus.

Combine it with the castle — they’re close to each other.

Eat your way through Hondori and Hatchobori

This is the part I’d tell any friend not to miss. Hondori is a covered shopping arcade (about 580 m) that runs east from the Peace Park towards Hatchobori, the department-store district. It’s lined with shops, cafés and places to eat, and walking and snacking along here is what I recommend to anyone.

Hiroshima tsukemen

Not the thick, warm dipping ramen you might know from Tokyo. Hiroshima tsukemen are cold noodles with a very spicy sauce of chili oil, vinegar, sesame and soy, served with boiled cabbage, cucumber and green onion. You choose how spicy (see Hiroshima Tsukemen and Soupless Tantanmen). Start low — the “normal” level is already hot.

Shiru-nashi tantanmen (soupless dandan noodles)

Noodles with a numbing Sichuan-pepper sauce at the bottom of the bowl and no soup. Stir it 20–30 times before eating so the sauce coats every noodle. When you’ve finished, order a small bowl of rice to mix with what’s left.

Okonomiyaki with oysters

Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki is layered: batter, cabbage, pork, noodles and egg. In oyster season, many shops offer oysters as a topping — the version I always recommend. See my okonomiyaki guide.

Hiroshima Andersen

A bakery inside a building that survived the atomic bomb, 360 m from the hypocenter. It was built as a bank in 1925 and reopened after renovation in 2020. Part of the original wall was kept. Downstairs is a big bakery and deli (10:00–19:30); upstairs is a restaurant. It’s one of my top recommendations in the city, and it’s right on Hondori.

Oysters: what to know in 2026

Hiroshima produces about 60% of Japan’s farmed oysters, and you can eat them grilled in the shell, fried, in hot pots, on rice or in okonomiyaki. I eat them in all sorts of ways: grilled at the stalls on Miyajima’s main shopping street, as oyster fry at restaurants in the city, and at seasonal oyster huts (kaki-goya) where you grill them yourself.

But be aware: Hiroshima’s oysters have had two bad seasons in a row. In 2025, many farms lost most of their oysters before harvest, and in October 2026 a prefectural survey again found high death rates. Shipments this season are expected to start later than usual, from November.

• Oyster season normally runs from autumn to spring, peaking November to March.
• Oyster huts are seasonal. Check that they’re open before you go.
• Fried oysters and oyster okonomiyaki are on menus all over the city when supplies allow.

Souvenirs

• Momiji manju — maple-leaf-shaped cakes, originally from Miyajima, filled with bean paste, custard, chocolate and more.
• Lemon products — Hiroshima is Japan’s No. 1 lemon producer. Look for Setoda lemon cake, lemon cider and lemon sweets.
• Carp goods — if you went to a game. See How to See a Hiroshima Carp Game.

Getting around the city

• Streetcar (Hiroden): ¥240 per ride in the city. A 1-day pass is ¥700, or ¥1,000 including the ferry to Miyajima. See my Hiroshima streetcar guide.
• Meipuru-pu sightseeing loop bus: since July 2026 it runs a single loop from Hiroshima Station past Shukkeien, the castle, the Dome and the Peace Park. ¥240 per ride or ¥600 for a day pass. Free with a Japan Rail Pass.

Or: use day 2 for a day trip

I’ve been to almost every corner of Hiroshima Prefecture. These are the easiest from the city:

Check train times on a route app before you go — some lines run infrequently.

A sample day 2

1. 7:30–9:30 — Peace Memorial Museum (if not done on day 1).
2. 10:00 — Walk to Hiroshima Castle grounds and Ninomaru.
3. 11:30 — Shukkeien Garden.
4. 13:00 — Lunch: spicy tsukemen or soupless tantanmen in Hatchobori.
5. Afternoon — Hondori shopping, coffee and pastries at Andersen.
6. Evening — Okonomiyaki (with oysters if they’re in season), or a Carp game if it’s baseball season.

FAQ

Can I go inside Hiroshima Castle?
Not the keep — it closed in March 2026. The Ninomaru buildings and the grounds are open and free.

Is one day in Hiroshima enough?
For the Peace Park and museum, yes. But you’ll miss the food scene and the day trips. Two days is better.

When is oyster season?
Roughly November to March. In 2026 supplies are lower than usual, so check before visiting an oyster hut.

Kaz

Tokushima local with family roots in Hiroshima

I live in Tokushima and my family is from Hiroshima, where I also used to live. I still go back several times a year. The guides here come from places I have actually been. Where I haven't tried something myself, I say so.