Hiroshima Cruise Port: The Complete Guide for 2026–27

Why Hiroshima is worth getting off the ship for

Hiroshima is the port where the whole ship gets off. There is nothing to talk you into: on 6 August 1945 the city became the first target of an atomic bomb, and the Peace Memorial Park — the ruined Dome across the river, the cenotaph, the museum — is where the world comes to understand it. Half an hour across the water by the fast boat, Miyajima offers the opposite mood: Itsukushima Shrine and its great vermilion torii standing in the sea, deer in the lanes, oysters on the grill.

The difficulty is geography. The two lie in opposite directions from the cruise berth — the Peace Park north into the city, Miyajima south-west across the bay — and each rewards unhurried time. That is why this guide starts with a question rather than a list: how many hours do you have, and at which berth? The answers below are built from the prefecture's own call schedule, the tram and boat operators' timetables, and the museum's and shrine's published hours, checked on 30 September 2026.

What Hiroshima is not: a port where you step off into the old town. Ujina is a working harbour on the city's southern edge, and everything worth your day starts with a tram, a boat or a taxi.

First: which berth are you at?

Hiroshima has two cruise berths on opposite sides of the city, and they change the whole day.

The prefecture's 2026–27 schedule lists 111 calls: 94 at Ujina No.5 and 17 at Itsukaichi. Itsukaichi is used mostly when Ujina is already taken — Silver Moon on 8 October 2026 while Azamara Pursuit has Ujina, Viking Orion's overnight on 21 October while Diamond Princess has Ujina — and for the occasional very large ship such as MSC Bellissima. You will often read that "big ships go to Itsukaichi"; the official list does not bear that out. Check your berth in the ship's daily programme the night before, and plan the day from there.

Hiroshima City staffs tourist-information desks at both berths on ship days.

Getting from the Ujina cruise terminal into Hiroshima

Hiroden trams are the answer for almost everything. Since February 2025 every ride costs ¥240, and since July 2026 you can tap a Suica, ICOCA or PASMO card on and off. Three lines serve the port; walk to Kaigan-dori, the stop nearest the terminal, and you save four minutes on each of them.

Taxi fares are the floor of the official Hiroshima tariff for the distance; city traffic adds time and yen. Hourly hire is ¥3,600 per 30 minutes — worth knowing if four of you want a driver for the morning.

Day passes. Hiroden's 1 Day Streetcar Pass costs ¥700 and pays for itself only from the third ride — a port–Peace Park round trip is ¥480, so most cruise days do not need it. The ¥1,000 1 Day Streetcar and Ferry Pass adds the Miyajima Matsudai ferry and the ¥100 visitor tax; it comes out ahead only if you take the tram to Hiroden-Miyajimaguchi and back and ride once more in the city. Neither pass is valid on JR trains or the JR ferry. Both are sold by tram drivers and at the Hiroshima Station transport information centre.

From the Itsukaichi berth

You cannot walk out of Itsukaichi. Take a taxi to JR Itsukaichi or Hiroden-Itsukaichi (about 5 minutes, from about ¥1,200); passengers also report a port shuttle to the stations, which we could not confirm officially. From there:

Hiroshima port to Miyajima: what is actually possible

Miyajima is a short hop that many cruise guides make sound like an expedition, and an expedition that some make sound like a hop. The honest version:

• The direct boat. Seto Sea Line runs high-speed boats from the Hiroshima Port (Ujina) Passenger Terminal to Miyajima in 32 minutes — the fastest way from a Ujina berth, and one most port guides never mention. Weekday departures are 9:25, 10:25, 11:25, 14:25, 15:25 and 16:25; the last boat back leaves Miyajima at 17:00. Reserve by phone or e-mail by 17:00 the day before; without a booking you board only if there is room. The window is cash only: ¥2,500 plus the ¥100 island tax.
• Train and ferry. Tram Line 5 to Hiroshima Station, JR to Miyajimaguchi (27 minutes), then the JR or Matsudai ferry, every 15 minutes or so. About 80–95 minutes door to door and ¥960. JR ferries from Miyajimaguchi between 9:10 and 16:10 take the "Great Torii route" past the gate.
• Tram all the way. Line 2 runs to Hiroden-Miyajimaguchi — ¥240, but 57 minutes from the Dome alone and about two hours from the ship. Only if you like trams.
• Peace Park to Miyajima by boat. Aqua Net's World Heritage Route leaves Motoyasu pier, 150 m from the A-Bomb Dome, and reaches Miyajima in 45 minutes (¥2,400, cards accepted). It is the link that makes both sights possible in one day. Some sailings are cancelled at extreme tides.

On the island, Itsukushima Shrine opens at 6:30 and closes at 18:00 until 14 October, 17:30 from 15 October to November and 17:00 in December; admission is ¥300, cash only. Whether the torii floats or stands on sand depends on the tide: under about 100 cm you can walk to it, over 250 cm it floats. Check the Miyajima Tourist Association's tide table for your date — it matters more than whether you arrive in the morning or afternoon. The Miyajima Ropeway runs 9:00 to a last ascent at 16:00 (¥2,000 return, ¥1,800 for 65 and over); allow an hour for the ride and the view, two if you walk on to the summit of Mt. Misen.

The Peace Memorial Museum: how to do it well

The museum opens at 7:30 every day except 30–31 December and closes at 19:00 for most of the year (18:00 from December to February). Admission is ¥200, and visitors aged 65 and over pay ¥100 on showing a passport. The first hour and the last evening hour are for web-booked tickets only; the rest of the day you can buy at the counter.

The museum received 2.58 million visitors in its last financial year, and the busiest months — October and November — are also the peak of the school-trip season, when classes arrive by the coachload. Two things help: arrive at 8:30, when counter sales open and before the groups, or buy a timed web ticket in advance (overseas visitors buy through Klook) and use the pre-purchase lane at the west entrance. Large bags are not allowed; there are coin lockers.

Allow two hours for the museum and another hour for the park: the cenotaph, framing the Dome along its axis; the Children's Peace Monument, hung with paper cranes; the Peace Flame; and the Dome itself, best seen quietly from across the Motoyasu River.

The best things to do in Hiroshima on a port day

Our full list, with the time each takes from the berth, is on the Hiroshima top 10. In brief:

1. The Peace Memorial Museum and the A-Bomb Dome — about four hours with the tram both ways.
2. Miyajima and Itsukushima Shrine — the floating torii; half a day at least.
3. Okonomiyaki — Hiroshima's layered, noodle-filled version, at a counter in front of the griddle.
4. Grilled oysters on Miyajima — the island's lane snack, grilled in the shell.
5. Hondori arcades — the covered shopping street next to the Peace Park; the rainy-day plan.
6. Shukkei-en garden — a compact strolling garden, ¥350, 9:00–17:00 from mid-September.
7. Momiji manju — maple-leaf cakes, best eaten warm on Miyajima.
8. Kumano brushes — brushes from Kumano, the Hiroshima town known for brush-making, sold downtown; the gift that packs flat.
9. Hiroshima Castle grounds — the keep is closed, but the grounds and the free Ninomaru buildings are open.
10. The Peace Memorial with a guide — for the story, not the logistics.

How to think about your hours

Work backwards from the ship. Your all-aboard time is usually 30 minutes before departure (check the daily programme), you want to be back at the gangway an hour before that, and the first half hour after arrival goes on getting off. So the time you can actually use is the call length minus about two hours.

Most Hiroshima calls in October–December 2026 and March 2027 are 9 or 10 hours. Four are overnights — Viking Venus (2–3 October), Viking Orion (21–22 October, at Itsukaichi), Asuka III and Le Soléal — which is the one situation where you can do everything.

Tours worth booking, by how many hours you have

Every pick opens our own page first — what the operator actually includes, who should skip it, and which upcoming Hiroshima calls it fits. Prices are the operator's "from" price as of 26 Sep 2026.

6h+The Peace Memorial with someone who can explain it

The museum is easy to visit alone. What a guide adds is the story — several of this operator's guides are from families that lived through the bombing. Book the 4-hour version the operator recommends for cruise passengers, and ask to meet at the Ujina terminal.

Couples · per person · meets at the cruise terminalPrivate Hiroshima Peace Memorial & City Tour with Local GuidePrivate, with museum entry and Shukkei-en included; 62 reviews at 5.0. The one to book if you only book one.5.0★ · 62 reviews · From US$113 per person · needs a 6h callWhy it is on this site →One-hour add-on · after the museumCalligraphy Workshop at Traditional Folk Craft Shop in HiroshimaA calligraphy class with Kumano brushes five minutes from the Dome. Not a tour — a quiet hour you get to on foot.5.0★ · 69 reviews · From US$39 per person · needs a 4h callWhy it is on this site →

7h+A slower story, or somewhere quieter

Families & groups of up to 6 · priced per groupHiroshima’s Heart: A 4-Hour Private Storytelling WalkFour slow hours from Shukkei-en through the castle grounds to the Dome, as one connected story. About $35 each for six; you take the tram in yourselves.5.0★ · 24 reviews · From US$207 per group · needs a 7h callWhy it is on this site →Repeat visitors · max 6Mitaki Peace Tour Beyond Central HiroshimaOut by local bus to Mitaki-dera, a 9th-century temple with bombed tram stones and peace-ceremony water. No museum, not for anyone who struggles with steps.5.0★ · 32 reviews · From US$94 per person · needs a 7h callWhy it is on this site →

8h+Miyajima, with a guide or a boat

Miyajima is easy by boat or train and ferry; a guide earns its fee on the island itself. From Itsukaichi you are 45 minutes from the ferry, which makes this the natural choice there.

Couples · private · per personPrivate Miyajima: Itsukushima Shrine, Island Nature & Local GuideFive hours on the island with a local guide: the shrine, Daisho-in temple, the lanes. Meets at hotels or Hiroshima Station in the listing — confirm a terminal meeting.5.0★ · 35 reviews · From US$156 per person · needs a 8h callWhy it is on this site →Food lovers · small shared groupMiyajima Sea Pilgrimage to Itsukushima Shrine Oyster Farm VisitThe torii from the water, an oyster raft and a grilled-oyster lunch, from in front of Miyajima ferry terminal. 55 reviews at 5.0; you get yourself to the island.5.0★ · 55 reviews · From US$97 per person · needs a 7h callWhy it is on this site →

10h+Both heavyweights, handed to a guide

Viking Venus and Viking Orion overnight here in October 2026; Westerdam and Diamond Princess give 14–16 hours on some calls.

First visit · private · per personHiroshima & Miyajima: UNESCO A-Bomb Dome & Itsukushima with LocalThe Peace Memorial and Miyajima in one private seven-hour day, admissions included; fares for trams, trains and ferries are extra. The museum gets about an hour — tight, but it is the price of doing both.5.0★ · 40 reviews · From US$214 per person · needs a 10h callWhy it is on this site →

Tours are booked through Viator (a Tripadvisor company). If you book, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. It never decides what we recommend — which is why each tour page has a "think twice" note.

About the return to the ship. None of the Hiroshima tours we list puts an on-time-return promise in writing, and on these tours you travel by public transport with your guide. Three habits protect you: book a tour that meets you at the cruise terminal, tell the guide your all-aboard time when you meet, and agree to be back at the gangway an hour before it. Itsukaichi pickups cost extra with this operator (¥2,000 per booking, in cash).

Money, cards and the practical stuff

Hiroshima city is card-friendly; Miyajima is not. Where you will need what:

The nearest cash machine to the Ujina terminal is a 7-Eleven about 550 m away; on Miyajima there is a post office almost next to the ferry pier. 7-Eleven and Japan Post machines generally accept foreign cards. The cruise terminal has free Wi-Fi and a currency-exchange machine.

With limited mobility. The Ujina terminal has an elevator and a taxi bay, and a 10-minute taxi to the Peace Park is far easier than the walk to the tram. The Aqua Net boat between the Peace Park and Miyajima has one wheelchair space per boat, so book it ahead. Among the tours above, the private Peace Memorial tour that meets at the terminal is marked wheelchair accessible — ask the operator to use taxis rather than trams.

Opening days worth checking against your date. Mitchan Sohonten's Hatchobori shop closes on Tuesdays, which catches the Luminara (13 October) and Norwegian Jade (17 November) calls; Yakigaki no Hayashi on Miyajima closes on Wednesdays. Okonomimura, a building of about two dozen okonomiyaki counters near Hondori, is the easy substitute.

When to go: seasons and crowds

• Autumn (October–November) is the best weather — highs of 24 °C in October and 18 °C in November — and the busiest time at the museum. The maples at Momijidani on Miyajima usually turn in the second half of November; the city's official maple date is 22 November.
• Spring (March–April). Cherry blossom opens around 25 March in a normal year (19 March in 2026). March 2027 has 21 cruise calls.
• Summer. August averages 32.8 °C, and July is the wettest month. Carry water; the Peace Park has little shade.
• Typhoons reach the region about three times a year, most often in September.
• Rain plan: the museum, the covered Hondori arcade and Okonomimura are all indoors. Heavy rain can stop the ropeway.

There are no cruise calls in January or February.