Hiroshima & the Seto Inland Sea: Peace Park, Miyajima and Shore Excursions

Hiroshima gives a cruise passenger two very different days, and a single call can only really hold one. One is the Peace Memorial Park and museum in the city. The other is Miyajima, the island with the red torii standing in the water. The berth is far enough from both that the choice matters before you step off the ship.

Choose Hiroshima's Peace Park if you want one deep, quiet half day, and Miyajima if you want scenery and a long lunch. Don't try both on a normal call. Ujina, where ships dock, is about 7 kilometers and 20 minutes from downtown by the pier sheet (the streetcar takes 29 to 50), and about 60 minutes from Itsukushima Shrine, so doing both on an 8-hour window leaves little time at either. The pier sheet does not say by what mode those times apply, so by public transport budget more.

The Seto Inland Sea also has smaller stops that a few ships use. This guide covers Hiroshima first and then those smaller ports. Everything here is from a named source and was checked on 21 October 2026. I haven't sailed into Hiroshima myself, so you'll get published facts, with the weak ones flagged.

Key Takeaways

• Hiroshima had 106 cruise calls in 2025, ninth in Japan, and the wider Chugoku region had 383 (MLIT).
• Ships dock at the Ujina Foreign Trade Wharf, a 390 meter berth with no boarding bridge, so passengers use the ship's own gangway. The pier sheet gives about 20 minutes to downtown and the Atomic Bomb Dome and about 60 minutes to Itsukushima Shrine, and says shuttles to downtown are required.
• The Hiroden streetcar costs a flat 240 yen for adults. A one-day streetcar and ferry pass is 1,000 yen and includes the Miyajima visitor tax.
• Itsukushima Shrine closes at 17:30 from 15 October to 30 November and 17:00 in December (18:00 from March to mid-October). Admission is 300 yen, or 500 yen with the Treasure Hall.
• Princess lists Hiroshima excursions from $99.95 (Easy Hiroshima, 2.5 hours) to $234.95 (Best of Hiroshima, 7.5 hours).

Where the Ship Docks

Most cruise ships call at the Ujina Foreign Trade Wharf in Minami-ku. The berth is 390 meters long and 10 meters deep, with a 300 meter wide channel and a 490 meter turning basin, and there is no air-draft limit. Recent callers include MSC Bellissima at about 172,000 gross tons and Quantum of the Seas at about 168,000. There is no boarding bridge, so passengers use the ship's own gangway. The pier sheet, dated 1 January 2026, gives about 7 kilometers and 20 minutes to downtown and says shuttles are required (MLIT).

The sheet's wording on the terminal building is out of date, so I'd treat its status as unconfirmed. I also couldn't find a current shuttle schedule. Cruise Critic users mention a shuttle dropping at the Hiroshimako stop, which is anecdotal, so confirm your own ship's arrangement.

Getting to the city

The Hiroden streetcar is the usual route. Line 5 runs between Hiroshima Station and Hiroshima Port (Ujina), about 29 minutes according to Hiroden's route table, while the City of Hiroshima says 30 to 50 minutes by streetcar or bus (City of Hiroshima). A forum post gave about 35 minutes from the port to the Genbaku Dome-mae stop. Take the longer figure when you budget.

The adult fare is a flat 240 yen, paid on exit (Hiroden). Older sites still quote 150 yen. A one-day streetcar pass is 700 yen, and a one-day streetcar and ferry pass is 1,000 yen and includes the Miyajima visitor tax. That ferry pass is valid only on the Matsudai Kisen ferry, not on the JR Miyajima Ferry (Hiroden).

Option 1: The Peace Park and Museum

From the streetcar stop Genbaku Dome-mae, the Atomic Bomb Dome and Peace Memorial Park are about a 10-minute walk (Peace Memorial Park).

Peace Memorial Museum. Admission is 200 yen for adults and 100 yen for high school students, with younger students free. Hours are 7:30 to 19:00 from March to July and September to November, 7:30 to 20:00 in August, and 7:30 to 18:00 from December to February, with last entry 30 minutes before closing. It closes 30 and 31 December, and has an exhibition-change closure on 15 to 20 February 2027. A web ticket is required for the 7:30 to 8:30 slot and for evening entry, and the museum may restrict entry when it is crowded (Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum). Check the museum's site for any renovation notices before you go.

Hiroshima Castle. The Ninomaru is free and open 9:00 to 17:30 from April to September and 9:00 to 16:30 from October to March. The keep has been closed since March 2026 because of deterioration, so you can see the exterior only (Hiroshima tourism bureau, a secondary source).

Shukkeien Garden. Admission is 350 yen for adults, and hours are 9:00 to 18:00 from 16 March to 15 September and 9:00 to 17:00 the rest of the year, with last entry 30 minutes before closing (Hiroshima tourism bureau, secondary).

This is a day for walking slowly and not rushing. I'd budget at least two hours for the museum and park, which is a planning assumption rather than a measured figure, so check the museum's own visitor guidance.

Option 2: Miyajima and Itsukushima Shrine

Miyajima is the postcard stop, and it takes planning because of the travel time and the tide.

Getting there

There are two routes. The ferry from Miyajimaguchi to the island takes about 10 minutes, and JR West's fare page reads 180 yen for adults, though its homepage shows 200, so confirm. A Miyajima visitor tax of 100 yen is charged separately on entering the island, with preschool children exempt (JR West Miyajima Ferry). The other route is a direct ferry from Peace Memorial Park, which takes 45 minutes and runs roughly hourly, though it can be cancelled at very low tide. Reported fares for that route range from 2,000 to 2,400 yen, so check the current price with the operator (Aqua Net Hiroshima).

From Ujina, the pier sheet's figure is about 60 minutes to the shrine, so a round trip alone is about two hours.

Itsukushima Shrine

Hours are 6:30 to 18:00 from 1 March to 14 October, 6:30 to 17:30 from 15 October to 30 November, and 6:30 to 17:00 in December. Admission is 300 yen for the shrine and 300 yen for the Treasure Hall, or 500 yen for a combined ticket sold at the shrine entrance only (Itsukushima Shrine).

The torii's restoration is finished, which one tourism source dates to February 2023, though others say December 2022. Separately, the five-storey pagoda is reported to be under conservation repair until 20 December 2026, so check what is covered in scaffolding on your date (both items from japan.travel pages, secondary).

Tide. Whether the torii looks like it floats depends on the tide. At high tide it appears to stand in the water, and at low tide you can walk to it. MLIT's multilingual database says the Miyajima Tourist Association publishes hourly tide forecasts (MLIT). One guide puts floating at about 250 cm and walking at about 100 cm, which is a secondary figure, so check the day's forecast rather than trusting a threshold.

Mt. Misen

The Mt. Misen ropeway costs 2,000 yen round trip for adults and 1,100 one way. It runs up from 9:00 to 16:00 and down from 9:20 to 16:30, can suspend for wind or thunder, and requires a web reservation on certain dates in October and November (Miyajima Ropeway). It is not a good addition to a short call.

What to eat on Miyajima

Oyster farming on Miyajima goes back about 330 years, and there is an oyster festival each February. About 20 makers produce momiji manju, the maple-leaf cakes, which were created in 1906 by one account and 1912 by another. Anago-meshi, conger eel on rice, became popular as a station lunch in the Meiji era (Miyajima Official Tourism). I couldn't verify a shop-by-shop list from an official source, so ask at the tourist information desk.

In the city, Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki layers noodles, egg and pork rather than mixing the batter. A JNTO guide from about 2019 gave a basic version at around 800 yen at Okonomimura, which is dated, so check current prices.

What Ship Excursions Cost

Princess's published "from" prices, accessed 21 October 2026, give a sense of one major line's prices (Princess Cruises):

Excursion	Length	Price
Easy Hiroshima	2.5 hours	$99.95
Peace Memorial Park, Atomic Bomb Dome and Museum	3.5 hours	$119.95
Highlights of Hiroshima	4 hours	$119.95
Miyajima and Itsukushima Shrine	4 hours	$124.95
Hiroshima by Tram and Foot	6 hours	$194.95
Iwakuni and Kintai Bridge	6.5 hours	$179.95
Best of Hiroshima	7.5 hours	$234.95

Compared with the streetcar at 240 yen, the Peace Park excursion costs far more, but it removes the shuttle question, which is the main logistical problem at Ujina. For Miyajima, where the berth is about 60 minutes away, the excursion's 4-hour framing and the line's stated commitment to wait for its own tours are worth thinking about. See ship excursions vs. exploring independently.

The Seto Inland Sea Beyond Hiroshima

Cruise calls in the inland sea are recovering. The Chugoku region, which includes Hiroshima, Kure, Onomichi and Fukuyama, logged 383 calls in 2025, made up of 191 foreign-operated and 192 Japan-operated, up from 307 in 2024 but still below the 2018 peak of 474 (MLIT Chugoku Regional Development Bureau).

Several smaller stops sit within that total:

• Onomichi (Bella Vista Marina) had 95 calls in 2025, all by Japan-operated ships.
• Itsukushima (anchorage off Miyajima) had 49 calls, 17 foreign-operated and 32 Japan-operated, recorded as anchorage and tender calls.
• Kure has a Kawaraishi West Wharf of 260 meters and 7.5 meters of depth, which suits small ships like Pacific Venus at about 26,600 gross tons (MLIT).
• Fukuyama logged 9 calls. Takamatsu (27) and Matsuyama (21) are on Shikoku, so they sit outside the Chugoku total, though ships cross the same sea.

MLIT's Japan-operated survey covers Asuka II, Asuka III, Nippon Maru, Mitsui Ocean Fuji and the Setouchi Cruise's Guntu. I did not verify which ship accounts for which calls. What the table shows is that Onomichi's 95 calls were all by Japan-operated ships, and Itsukushima's 49 split 17 foreign-operated and 32 Japan-operated.

Pitfalls

• The berth is far. Ujina is about 20 minutes from downtown and 60 from the shrine.
• Early closing in autumn. The shrine closes at 17:30 from 15 October.
• Low tide. The direct Peace Park ferry can be cancelled at very low tide.
• Rain and wind. The ropeway can suspend for wind or thunder.
• Typhoon season. I found no published skip rate, but typhoons can change itineraries, so check your line's policy and keep plans loose.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I see both the Peace Park and Miyajima in one port day?

It is possible only on a long call and a rushed plan. On an 8-hour window, the Miyajima round trip alone uses about 2 hours of travel, so I'd pick one.

How far is the Hiroshima cruise port from the city?

About 7 kilometers and 20 minutes to downtown, according to the MLIT pier sheet. By streetcar to Hiroshima Station it is about 29 minutes on Line 5.

How much is the Miyajima visitor tax?

100 yen per visit, charged with the ferry fare, according to JR West's Miyajima Ferry fare page. Press reports also mention a 500 yen annual pass, which I could not confirm on an official page.

The Bottom Line

Hiroshima's berth makes the day an either-or choice. Take the Peace Park if you want depth, or Miyajima if you want scenery, and set your deadline around the shrine's earlier closing hours in autumn. For the neighboring ports, see the Osaka and Kobe guide and the Nagasaki guide. Autumn hours are covered in the best time to cruise Japan, and the full set is in the Japan cruise ports guide.