Discover Japan's Hidden Gems

Itsukushima Shrine

Floating Torii Gate of Miyajima

UNESCO World Heritage shrine on Miyajima Island, famous for its vermillion torii gate appearing t...

Hiroshima Peace Memorial

A-Bomb Dome - Symbol of Peace

Skeletal remains of the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall, a UNESCO World Heritage ...

Shimanami Kaido

Shimanami Kaido Cycling Route

A 70-kilometer cycling route across six islands connected by spectacular bridges over the Seto In...

Okunoshima

Okunoshima (Rabbit Island)

A small island in the Seto Inland Sea famous for its hundreds of friendly wild rabbits.

Hiroshima

Hiroshima - City of Peace and Resilience

A city rebuilt as a peace memorial and modern metropolis. Gateway to Miyajima Island and home of ...

Tomonoura

Tomonoura - The Port Town That Inspired Ponyo

A historic port town that inspired the Studio Ghibli film 'Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea,' with t...

Onomichi

A hillside port town of temples, cats, and the gateway to the Shimanami Kaido cycling route.

Etajima

A 20-Minute Boat Ride to the Old Naval Academy and Oyster Rafts

An island in Hiroshima Bay, joined by land to Nomijima, where the Imperial Japanese Navy trained ...

Yamato Museum (Kure Maritime Museum)

A 26-Meter Battleship Model, Back on Show in Kure Since April 2026

Kure's naval and shipbuilding history museum, built around a 26.3-meter, one-tenth scale model of...

Mount Misen

Miyajima's 535-Metre Sacred Mountain, by Ropeway or a Two-Hour Climb Through the Forest Behind Itsukushima Shrine

The 535-metre peak in the middle of Miyajima, rising behind Itsukushima Shrine. The forest centre...

Mitaki-dera

Three Small Waterfalls and a Red Pagoda in the Hills Above Hiroshima

A Shingon temple on a wooded slope in Nishi Ward, named for the three small waterfalls on its gro...

Daisho-in

Prayer Wheels and Rows of Rakan Statues at the Foot of Mount Misen

Miyajima's oldest temple, at the foot of Mount Misen, traced by tradition to Kukai in 806. Stone ...

Hiroshima Castle

Hiroshima Castle’s moats, stone walls and reconstructed Ninomaru buildings trace the city’s origi...

Michi-no-Eki Takehara

Sake and bamboo at the gate of old Takehara

A town-centre station on Route 185 that doubles as the entrance to Takehara's preserved merchant ...

Michi-no-Eki Saijo Nonta-no-Sakagura

Sake from ten Higashihiroshima breweries under one roof

A sake-brewery-style station beside the Route 2 Saijo Bypass, opened in 2022. Its market stocks s...