How to spend 48 hours in Hiroshima

Hiroshima Oysters at Oyster and Beef Sake Muro

Around 70 per cent of Japan’s oysters come from the waters around Hiroshima. So there’s certainly no shortage of places to enjoy them—just walk around downtown Hiroshima and stumble into an izakaya, or if you prefer something a little more high-end, visit Oyster and Beef Sake Muro, a beautiful wine bar-esque space.

Everything is good here—from fresh sashimi to melt-in-your-mouth beef—but it’s the oysters that really shine. 

Start your day at Teranishi Coffee 

Just a five-minute walk from Hilton Hiroshima is Teranishi Coffee, an institution which has served coffee to the people of Hiroshima since 1978. No stone is left unturned when it comes to crafting the perfect cup of coffee—from house-roasted beans to custom-made nel drip coffee pots, even down to the thickness of their mugs. The space is warm, inviting and nostalgic of old school Japanese cafes. 

Or Sapta

If you prefer something more modern, visit Sapta, a cosy cafe housed in a white-tile residential building with just two seats and a standing counter.  The owner, Tatsuya Nagasaka, is knowledgeable and has an affinity for medium roasts that are “gentle and never bitter”. Keep an eye out for their rotating selection baked goods, sourced from specilaised local bakeries. 

Hiroshima Castle

Originally built in the late 14th century, Hiroshima Castle is surrounded by thick, towering walls and a wide moat—which today is teeming with carp. Inside, you’ll find exhibitions that showcase the castle’s—and the city’s—fascinating history, featuring memorabilia like swords and armour that dates back hundreds of years.

Shukkeien Gardens

Just a short walk from Hiroshima Castle, Shukkeien Gardens is a breathtaking world of its own. Landscapes here shift from bamboo forests to sprawling meadows—it’s a wonderful place to witness the seasons in Japan, like the sweet pink cherry blossoms in the spring and the fiery foliage of autumn. A pond sits at the heart of the gardens, surrounded by a walking path with several tea houses and impressive displays of bonsai trees.

Lunch at めん処 栄家

Operated by a local family for 38 years, めん処 栄家 (there’s no official English name, but on Instagram it goes by Mendokoro Sakaeya) serves delicious bowls of udon and soba, as well as hearty katsudon. It has that wonderful feeling of a classic mom-and-pop Japanese eatery, with dishes that you can tell have been perfected over generations. 

Simose Art Museum

This unassuming and relatively unknown art museum in Hiroshima was named "World's Most Beautiful Museum" in December 2024 at the Prix Versailles, a French world architecture and design award that celebrates contemporary projects. 

Located outside of the city in Otake, Simose Art Museum was designed by Shigeru Ban and covers 4.6 hectares of land overlooking the Seto Inland Sea. The museum houses roughly 500 works of art, collected over half a century by Yumiko Shimose, president of Marui Sangyo Corporation, including pieces inherited from her parents who co-founded the company.

The museum is a work of art itself, featuring eight colourful exhibition rooms that appear to float on water.

Dinner at Kisetsu Ryori Nakashima

Hidden behind a facade of stone and slatted wood, Nakashima Ryori serves a kaiseki menu highlighting the best local, seasonal ingredients. Attention to detail is an art form here, from sourcing the freshest sashimi in the region to how each dish is plated and served - some of the crockery are more than 200 years old. 

The interiors are beautiful, too. Definitely request a seat at the counter, which faces a shoji screen and ornate wood carvings. 

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park

Hiroshima was once a bustling economic hub until on August 6, 1945, the United States dropped the world’s first nuclear bomb above the city’s business district. The impact was catastrophic—over 70,000 people were killed and roughly two-thirds of the city was destroyed. Though Hiroshima has made an incredible recovery, acknowledgement of the tragedy and respect for all that was lost, remains an important part of Hiroshima’s identity. 

The beautiful albeit solemn Peace Memorial Park sits where one of the centres of business once stood. Here, you'll find one building that still stands from the tragic event, known today as the Atomic Bomb Dome. There's also a museum housing various exhibitions, including photos of and after the event, as well as tales from survivors. 

Lunch at Tsubame 

Stepping into Tsubame is like stepping back in time, from the Showa-era interior to the boxy TV perched in the corner of the room—the owners are big fans of the city's baseball team, the Hiroshima Toyo Carp, so if you visit on game day you can watch it over a steaming bowl of shoyu ramen.  

It's all about comfort foods here. Apart from the aforementioned shoyu ramen, which is surprisingly light, Tsubame also serves oden skewers and onigiri. 

Hong Kong-based airline HK Express flies between Hong Kong and Hiroshima three times per week. Inspired by this article? Book your flight to Hiroshima here. 

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