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Hiroshima on a budget: how to do it well
Short answer
Yes, Hiroshima works well on a budget because its key sights are free or cheap and the food is filling and inexpensive. Plan on about 6,500 yen per person per day (bed 3,000, food 2,500, sights 500, transport 500), plus long-distance trains.
A realistic daily budget
| Budget | Mid-range | Comfort | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bed (per person, sharing) | yen3,000 | yen8,000 | yen25,000 |
| Food & drink | yen2,500 | yen5,000 | yen12,000 |
| Sights & tickets | yen500 | yen2,500 | yen5,000 |
| Local transport | yen500 | yen1,500 | yen4,000 |
| Per person, per day | yen6,500 | yen17,000 | yen46,000 |
Approximate 2026 prices, two people sharing a room. From our Hiroshima day-cost table.
Free things to do
- Visit the Atomic Bomb Dome (Genbaku Dome) and the Peace Memorial Park
- See the Children's Peace Monument and its paper cranes
- Listen to the free volunteer guides in the Peace Park
- Walk the grounds of Hiroshima Castle (the keep is paid)
- Visit Daisho-in Temple on Miyajima
- Hike up Mount Misen through the forest instead of taking the ropeway
Cheap eats
- Hiroshima okonomiyaki: roughly ¥900–1,600
- Soupless dandan noodles (shiru-nashi tantanmen): about ¥800–1,200
- Hiroshima tsukemen: about ¥900–1,300
- Momiji manju: about ¥100–250 each
- Convenience-store breakfast: a few hundred yen
Where to sleep for less
Budget travellers stay in hostels and capsule hotels near Hiroshima Station or around Hondori, for about 4,000–8,000 yen; dorm beds are cheaper. Both areas have trams to the Peace Park.
Getting around cheaply
Walk or ride the Hiroden tram around the city. Reach Miyajima by tram or JR train to Miyajimaguchi and then the short ferry. From Hiroshima Airport, the airport bus takes about 50 minutes.
A sample budget day
- Morning: Atomic Bomb Dome and Peace Memorial Park (free)
- Midday: Peace Memorial Museum (about 200 yen)
- Lunch: okonomiyaki at Okonomimura (about ¥1,200)
- Afternoon: Shukkeien garden or castle grounds; tram rides (a few hundred yen)
- Evening: tsukemen or dandan noodles (about ¥1,000)
- Total: about ¥3,000–3,500 plus your bed (about ¥3,000–4,000), so roughly ¥6,500
More ways to save
- Stay one night rather than doing a rushed day trip from Osaka, to avoid two long train fares in one day.
- Pay with an IC card (such as ICOCA) on trams, trains and buses.
- Visit Miyajima early, before the day-trippers, and bring a picnic.
- Lunch sets (teishoku) are cheaper than the same dishes at dinner.
- Carry cash; many small okonomiyaki and noodle shops are cash-only.
- Check tide tables so one visit to the torii shows it the way you want.
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Common questions
Can I visit Hiroshima on a budget?
Yes, at about 6,500 yen a day with a hostel, trams and okonomiyaki.
What is free in Hiroshima?
The Peace Memorial Park, the Atomic Bomb Dome, the castle grounds and Daisho-in Temple on Miyajima.
Is the JR Pass worth it for Hiroshima?
Only if you travel a lot by Shinkansen across Japan; otherwise single tickets are often cheaper.