- Itsukushima Jinja (厳島神社）: world famous for its Torii gate located in the ocean with most of the shrine placed on stilts. Prettiest at high tide when the shrine’s stilts are all submerged underwater. It also has high cultural value, founded more than 1200 years ago, and the “headquarters” of all 500+ “Itsukushima shrines” in Japan. As a bonus, it’s located on an island with a lot of friendly wild deer (although in my opinion Nara’s deer are better).

- Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum (広島平和記念資料館）: a museum in memory of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. The exhibits contain humbling depictions of the bombing and its aftermath, with the park full of monuments dedicated to world peace. Very tranquil and solemn location, a must-visit site.

- Shimose Art Museum (下瀬美術館）: in the outskirts of Hiroshima (not too far from the ferry port to visit Itsukushima Jinja), is an architecturally beautiful museum designed by Shigeru Ban （坂茂）overlooking the Seto-Naikai（瀬戸内海）, opened earlier this year. I recommend visiting simply for the architecture, with the exhibits varying based on what they show.

- Hiroshima Art Museum（ひろしま美術館）: a small museum with a collection featuring European Impressionist and Japanese Modern Art. Go if you still have time after visiting the above two sites. Their collection is better than Shimose, architecture less so.

- You must have oysters when you’re in Hiroshima, as the city produces (in oyster farms in the ocean) around 2/3 of Japan’s oyster supply.

- For dinner, would recommend doing tabe-aruki (食べ歩き、literal translation: eating and walking) where you pop into an izakaya (居酒屋) and eat a bit, drink a pint; and then walk to the next one, and so on and so forth until you become satisfied. Hiroshima is the birthplace of okonomiyaki (お好み焼き、Japanese savory pancakes), and is arguably one of two cities (the other being Osaka) where you can get good quality okonomiyaki.

- To and from: Hiroshima airport is a convenient 1 hour flight from Tokyo, but is located an inconvenient hour away by car from the city of Hiroshima. You either drive (or take a bus) from the airport; or take the shinkansen (bullet train) as the station is located in the city center. The shinkansen is around 4 hours from Tokyo, 2 from Osaka, and 1 from Fukuoka.

- Within: Hiroshima’s public transport network is well-developed, you don’t need a car for travel within the city. Itsukushima Shrine is located on an island (Miyajima) which is only accessible by a 15 minute ferry (driving on the island isn’t recommended).

- City center (right around the station or near the Peace Memorial Museum). North side of the station has a bunch of hotels, but the izakayas and museums are all located on the south side of the station (also has hotels)

- Don’t stay in Miyajima, you won’t be able to walk to the izakayas in the city. You’ll be trapped on the island for the night.