Hiroshima Day Trip from Fukuoka: Miyajima, Peace Park & Okonomiyaki
Hi everyone, Alex here and today I’m going to talk about how we took a day trip from Fugoko, Japan to Hiroshima. Our main goals of the day were Miaima, the Peace Park Museum and Okonamyaki. So if you are interested in those things, keep watching. Okay, number one, let’s talk about getting there. We got the fast train from Fukuoka around 9:00 a.m. and it takes an hour to get to the Hiroshima station. From there, we went to Miaima Island. And let me tell you what we should have done. We should have gotten on a train to Miaima Guuchi Pier about 30 minutes away. From there, there are two fairies that leave about every 20 minutes and cost 400 yen round trip. And the ferry ride itself to the island takes about 10 minutes. What we did instead was walk 30 minutes, pay 4,000 yen per person round trip, and then take a 45minute ferry to the island. I thought the views from the ferry would be nicer, but they actually weren’t. Just take the train to the cheaper fairies. It’s basically the same amount of time in the end. If you do want to look into the fairies more, I will leave some links below to all three of them. Okay, now let’s talk about Miaima. We got to Miaima around noon and we had a ticket back on the ferry for 400 p.m. So, here’s everything we managed to do in that time. From the ferry terminal, we booked it right to the floating Tory gates because the tide was going out. We caught it with just enough time so they were kind of still floating, but within half an hour or so, you could fully walk up to them. There is some seating nearby to enjoy the views, and it was pretty crowded when we were there. There are some cute little deer walking around who might try to rob you. Um, but just make sure you don’t feed them. Not interested. No. Oh, no. No, it’s not even a boat. It’s a toothbrush. From there, we went to this main shopping street. We quickly found a place with some craft beer called Miaima Brewery, and we were happy to find that they have a really nice tasting room upstairs with a view of the Tory Gates. There was like no one up there, so it was actually a really great spot to avoid the crowds from the main shopping street below. After lunch and some beers, we walked to the Daishoin Temple. And you guys, what a treat. This temple is filled with over 500 little miniature Buddhist statues, and almost all of them are wearing these little red beanies. It’s one of my favorite temples I’ve been to in Japan, and it was made even more magical with the beautiful fall foliage really popping in November. If we had more time, we would have taken the ropeway up to Mount Missen Observatory, which is open from 9 to 4. There’s actually a free shuttle that runs every 20 minutes from this park entrance. The one nice thing about the ferry that we decided to take is that it took us right back to the Peace Park, which is where we wanted to be. We got to the Peace Park Museum around 5:00 and we were greeted with a giant line. It went pretty fast though and entry costs 200 yen per person and the museum closes at 6 or 7 depending on the time of year. Y’all, I used to work in the museum design industry and let me say with confidence that this is a really really good museum. I wrote like an entire LinkedIn post about it because it just was like blowing my mind the way that they told the story and like led you through the events of that day and the aftermath of it. I was getting really emotional and that hasn’t happened to me since the Holocaust Museum in DC. And the whole thing was just like really really well done and interesting to pick apart from like a design perspective but also just as a viewer and of someone coming from the outside of it. After you get through a lot of the emotional and like visually impactful parts of the museum, there are several more big displays that are all about like the history and the science behind the bomb and things like that and also the reconstruction of the city. We were pretty drained by the time we got to that part spending like an hour and a half in the museum. But if you want to spend more time and really dig into that stuff, it’s definitely all there. It’s very thorough looking. I think the museum overall does a really good job and it has a really good message, which is more like a plea that we really should not drop any more atomic bombs on the world. I agree. From there, we went to downtown Hiroshima for dinner. And the one of the main shopping streets there called Honduri Street is really close by to the museum and it is lined with restaurants. Hiroshima is known for one of my favorite Japanese foods, and that is okonomiyaki, which is like a savory cabbage pancake type of thing. It’s amazing. We went to this place, which is usually referred to as okonamiyaki village, and it’s like a tower filled with nothing but these small okonamiyaki restaurants or like grills. We went up a few floors until we found a bar with some empty seats at it, and it was amazing. I would definitely recommend coming here. After dinner, we walked around a little bit, but we had to be back to the train station by 8:30 to catch our train. I really like the vibe of this city. I would definitely spend one or two nights here. And I know some people who have spent the night on the island, actually, just to get more time there. So, I think that that would be a good option if you have a couple days to spare. Like I said, this was a day trip from Fukuoka and I’ve actually made a handful of videos based from there that I can link for you below. These are videos like how to see live sumo tournament, Fukoka, the Beu Hot Springs, Takashiho Gorge, and then the one that I’ll link right here specifically was all about when we took a road trip around and we stopped in Nagasaki to go to the Atomic Bomb Museum, but we also ended up finding some really pretty waterfalls and like exploring more of that area because we had to stay kind of out of the city. So, highly recommend checking those out if you interested in visiting another museum. Thanks so much for watching and I will see you in the next one. Bye.
Can you really do a day trip to Hiroshima from Fukuoka? Yes—you absolutely can!
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
00:14 Getting from Fukuoka to Hiroshima and Miyajima
01:05 Miyajima Island and things to do
02:47 Hiroshima Peace Park
04:11 Hondori Street and Okonomiyaki
04:52 Outro
In this video, I’ll show you exactly how we did it, what we’d do differently, and what to do if you’ve only got one day.
We started our day with a quick bullet train from Fukuoka to Hiroshima, headed straight to Miyajima Island to see the famous Floating Torii Gates, sip craft beer with a view, and wander through the beautiful Daisho-in Temple (trust me, you don’t want to skip this one).
Next, we spent time at the Hiroshima Peace Park Memorial Museum, one of the most moving museums I’ve ever been to. If you’re interested in history, this is a must-see that deserves time to absorb.
Of course, we couldn’t leave Hiroshima without grabbing a plate (or two) of Okonomiyaki—Hiroshima-style! We found the best spot in Okonomimura, an entire building filled with Okonomiyaki bars.
If you’re planning your own Hiroshima day trip, I’ve got:
– Tips for getting there and back from Fukuoka
– How to choose the best ferry to Miyajima (and which one to avoid)
– What to do if you have only 4 hours on Miyajima Island
– Highlights of the Peace Park Memorial Museum
– Where to eat the best Okonomiyaki downtown
Here are links to our other Kyushu travel videos, like our guides to Fukuoka, Beppu, Takachiho Gorge, and Nagasaki.
– Our 3 Day Guide to Fukuoka and Asa-Kuju National Park: https://yt.openinapp.co/munhb
– How to see sumo in Fukuoka: https://yt.openinapp.co/s8w6y
– Guide to Beppu: https://yt.openinapp.co/h4b15
– Guide to Nagasaki: https://yt.openinapp.co/ozgzp
– Guide to Takachiho Gorge: https://yt.openinapp.co/e8v9y
Resources:
– Hiroshima Food Guide: https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3408.html
– Miyajima Blog: https://wanderfulhorizons.com/how-to-get-to-miyajima/
– JR West Miyajima Ferry: https://jr-miyajimaferry.co.jp/en/
– Tourist Ferry: https://miyajima-matsudai.co.jp/en/
– Ferry from Peace Park: https://www.aqua-net-h.co.jp/en/
Get Your Guide Tours:
– Hiroshima Walking Tour: https://gyg.me/MZG4PiAg
– Hiroshima and Miyajima Full Day Tour: https://gyg.me/7GjOToae
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