Getting around Hiroshima:
flat ¥240, and PASPY is dead.
Three things changed and almost nobody updated. Hiroden fares went flat at ¥240 on 1 February 2025. The tram terminal moved onto the second floor of Hiroshima Station on 3 August 2025, which invalidates every route description written before then. And on 18 July 2026 the Maple-loop bus abolished its Orange, Green and Lemon routes in favour of one unified loop.
Ride the Hiroden streetcar. Every trip inside the city is a flat ¥240 adult / ¥120 child, no zones and no distance scale, and you pay on exit. From Hiroshima Station take line 2 or line 6 to Genbaku Dome-mae for the Peace Memorial Park — about 15 minutes. The trams now board on the 2nd floor of the JR building, level with the central ticket gate, since 3 August 2025. The Maple-loop bus is free with a JR Pass — show the driver. Buy the ¥700 day pass only from your third ride.
One tram network, one fare, four things worth knowing
The systemHiroshima kept its streetcars when every other Japanese city tore them up, which is why the network is unusually good and unusually confusing to look at. The fare structure, at least, is now the simplest in Japan.
Hiroden went to a flat ¥240 adult / ¥120 child fare on 1 February 2025, its first revision in seven years, replacing the old distance-based ¥140–270 scale. The all-day streetcar pass is ¥700, so it pays from your third ride — which is exactly what a Peace Park, castle and station day comes to.
Here is the counter-intuitive part nobody reports: the flat fare made short hops dearer and the long ride cheaper. A two-stop hop went from ¥220 to ¥240, but the long run out to Miyajimaguchi fell from ¥270 to ¥240 — which means the February 2025 revision was, for visitors specifically, a fare cut. Children are ¥120. You pay on exit. And there is no Line 4, whatever a route map you found online says.
The second change is where you get on. Hiroshima Station's tram terminal moved onto the 2nd floor of the JR building on 3 August 2025, level with the JR central ticket gate, with trams arriving over a new 1.1km viaduct. It is the first tram terminal inside a station building at this level in Japan, the transfer is flat and step-free, and it is about 4 minutes faster to Hatchobori with the JR-to-tram change cut from roughly 2.1 minutes to 1.3. The vertical layout is Shinkansen 3F, JR conventional lines and trams 2F. Saruko-bashi-cho was abolished and all stop numbering changed, so any route description written before August 2025 is now wrong.
Third, the cards, and this is the fact most guides get backwards. Suica and ICOCA still work and were never discontinued. PASPY ended on 29 March 2025, but national IC cards carried on through simplified readers; WAON was added on 1 July 2026 and PiTaPa was dropped. Four gotchas: you cannot top up on board, so charge at a JR machine or a convenience store first; there is no IC discount — you pay ¥240 while a MOBIRY DAYS user pays ¥220; child and disability fares are not automatic, so tell the driver before you tap off; and commuter passes do not work, only stored value. MOBIRY DAYS is a residents' product saving ¥20 a ride — skip it. Do not confuse it with MOBIRY TRAVEL, which is the tourist ticket shop and is useful.
Fourth: the Maple-loop (Meipuru~pu) sightseeing bus was consolidated on 18 July 2026. The Orange, Green and Lemon routes are abolished — there is now one unified route, and it no longer stops at Kamiyacho or Hatchobori. japan-guide, updated on 15 June 2026, still describes the old colour routes, and so does nearly every English source; if you have read about picking a colour, that page is out of date. One ride is ¥240, a 1-day pass is ¥600 walk-up or ¥400 bought online 2+ days ahead, and it is free with a JR Pass — show the driver. It runs 09:00–18:00 daily, every 10–15 minutes, 42 services, departing Hiroshima Station's Shinkansen (north) exit, stop 2. There is no "blue route" to Hiroshima Port — that only exists in stale third-party sources; use trams 1, 3 or 5.
Fifth: Hiroshima is flatter and more walkable than its map suggests. The Peace Memorial Park to Hondori is under ten minutes on foot; Hondori to Hatchobori is five. Since 28 March 2026 the Hondori stop carries the official subtitle 「平和記念公園東」, "Peace Memorial Park East", added specifically to help visitors find the park. If your day is park, shopping and dinner you may not need a single tram fare.
Every way of moving around Hiroshima, priced
ComparedTimes are Hiroshima Station to the Peace Memorial Park unless the row says otherwise — the one journey nearly every visitor makes on day one.
| Mode | Fare | Station → Peace Park | Verdict | Use it when |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hiroden streetcar | ¥240 flat · ¥120 child | Line 2 or 6 to Genbaku Dome-mae, ~15 min | WORTH IT | Always, unless you are walking. It is the default and it is the cheapest thing that moves. |
| Hiroden all-day pass | ¥700 · ¥350 child | Same trams, unlimited | DEPENDS | Only from your third ride — below that you lose money. The full table is here. |
| Maple-loop bus | ¥240 a ride · ¥600 day pass (¥400 online 2+ days ahead) · free with a JR Pass | ~17 min | WORTH IT | You hold a JR Pass, or you have luggage. One unified route since 18 July 2026 — the Orange, Green and Lemon routes are gone. 09:00–18:00, every 10–15 min, from the Shinkansen (north) exit, stop 2. |
| Walking | Free | ~40 min, and not a nice 40 minutes | DEPENDS | Inside the centre — park to Hondori is under 10 minutes. Not from the station. |
| JR to Miyajimaguchi | ¥420 · free with a JR Pass | 27 min to the ferry | WORTH IT | Nearly three times faster than the tram for ¥180 more, and free if you hold a rail pass. The obvious choice for the island day. |
| Hiroden Line 2 to Miyajimaguchi | ¥240 | 65–75 min to the ferry | DEPENDS | Cheaper by ¥180 and slower by 40 minutes. Only if you want the trundle through the western suburbs, or you already hold a Hiroden pass. |
| Miyajima ferry | ¥200 each way + ¥100 visitor tax outbound | n/a — from Miyajimaguchi | WORTH IT | JR West and Matsudai are both ¥200 adult / ¥100 child, ~10 min. JR sailings leaving Miyajimaguchi between 09:10 and 16:10 detour past the Great Torii at no extra charge, outbound only. Last JR off the island 22:14. |
| Taxi | ¥700–800 flagfall, then ¥100 per ~300m | ~15 min, no traffic | SKIP | Fares rose about 10.27% on 5 December 2025 and there is a 20% surcharge 22:00–05:00. GO, Uber Taxi and DiDi all work here; S.RIDE does not. Otherwise the tram costs ¥240 and takes the same time. |
| Bicycle | Share-cycle rates vary by operator | ~20 min | DEPENDS | Flat city, good river paths. Worth it on a dry day with time; pointless in the June–July rains, which bring 226.5mm and 279.8mm respectively. |
Two warnings. The taxi fare zone excludes Miyajima and Miyajimaguchi — do not assume a ride-hailing app will pick you up there. And JR West's own English fare page still shows the pre-2023 ¥180 ferry fare; the correct figure is ¥200. Dollar prices convert at ¥157.7 = $1, the rate on 4 August 2026. Treat every $ figure as a snapshot and the ¥ figure as the real price.
The practical bit
Plan your visitWhich line, which stop
The stops that matterHiroden numbers its lines rather than colour-coding them, and the numbers are what is announced. There is no Line 4. The five you will actually use:
- Line 2 (Miyajimaguchi) — Hiroshima Station → Kamiyacho → Genbaku Dome-mae → onward to the Miyajima ferry, 65–75 minutes for the full run. The single most useful line on the network.
- Line 6 (Eba) — also serves Genbaku Dome-mae. If a line 6 arrives first, take it; the stop is the same.
- Lines 1, 3 and 5 — down through Hatchobori and Hondori, and lines 1, 3 and 5 are how you reach Hiroshima Port. The Maple-loop bus does not go there, whatever a "blue route" listing tells you.
- Hakushima line — north to Katei-Saibansho-mae, which is a two-minute walk from the Teishin Hospital annex that opened on 1 May 2026 and is not in the Peace Memorial Park.
- Loop line "L" — opened 28 March 2026, running 10:00–16:00 only. The reason to care: since May 2026 heritage trams, including the hibaku densha — the A-bomb survivor cars that were running on 6 August 1945 — operate on it to a published timetable. That is the real draw, and it is not in any guidebook yet.
For Hiroshima Castle get off at Kamiyacho-nishi or Shukkeien-mae and walk about 10 minutes. Hiroshima Castle's keep closed to the public on 22 March 2026 — after 68 years — because the 1958 reinforced-concrete reconstruction no longer met earthquake standards. A wooden rebuild is planned but years out. The grounds, the moat, the bomb-scarred stone walls and the Ninomaru reconstruction are all still open, and all still free. The tower you came to go inside is not.
For Shukkeien, the Hakushima line stop Shukkeien-mae puts you at the gate. For Hondori and the covered arcades, ride line 1 or 2 to Hondori or Kamiyacho and walk.
Getting around Hiroshima — the questions people ask
FAQPage schema pairedHow much is the Hiroshima streetcar?
A flat ¥240 for adults and ¥120 for children, about $1.50, on every city route, and you pay on exit. That fare took effect on 1 February 2025. The under-reported detail is that it made short hops dearer, ¥220 to ¥240, while cutting the long ride to Miyajimaguchi from ¥270 to ¥240 — for a visitor, it was a fare cut.
How do I get from Hiroshima Station to the Peace Memorial Park?
Hiroden line 2 or line 6 to Genbaku Dome-mae, about 15 minutes for ¥240. Since 3 August 2025 the trams board on the 2nd floor of the JR building, level with the central ticket gate. The Maple-loop bus does it in about 17 minutes and is free with a Japan Rail Pass — show the driver. Walking takes roughly 40 minutes.
Can I use Suica or ICOCA in Hiroshima?
Yes — and this is the fact most guides get wrong. Suica and ICOCA still work and were never discontinued; PASPY ended on 29 March 2025 but the national cards carried on through simplified readers. WAON was added on 1 July 2026 and PiTaPa was dropped. You cannot top up on board, so charge at a JR machine or convenience store first, and note there is no IC discount — you pay ¥240 where a MOBIRY DAYS user pays ¥220.
Is the Hiroshima loop bus covered by the JR Pass?
Yes — the Maple-loop bus from Hiroshima Station is free with a Japan Rail Pass; show the driver. JR West's own pages do not advertise this, so carry ¥240 as a backup. Since 18 July 2026 there is one unified route rather than the old Orange, Green and Lemon ones, and it no longer stops at Kamiyacho or Hatchobori.
Should I take the train or the tram to Miyajima?
The train. JR to Miyajimaguchi is ¥420 and 27 minutes, against ¥240 and 65–75 minutes on Hiroden Line 2 — nearly three times faster for ¥180. It is also free with a JR Pass. Take the tram only if you already hold a Hiroden pass or you want the western-suburbs trundle.
How much is a taxi in Hiroshima?
Expect a ¥700–800 flagfall and about ¥100 per 300 metres after the 10.27% rise on 5 December 2025, plus a 20% surcharge between 22:00 and 05:00. GO, Uber Taxi and DiDi all work here; S.RIDE does not. Note the fare zone excludes Miyajima and Miyajimaguchi, so do not count on an app picking you up at the ferry.
Do I need a transport pass in Hiroshima?
Only if you will make three or more tram rides in a day — at a flat ¥240 the ¥700 all-day pass breaks even at exactly three. If you are doing Peace Park and Miyajima on the same day, look at the ¥1,000 passes instead, and if you hold a JR Pass, buy nothing: it already covers the JR ferry, the Maple-loop and JR to Miyajimaguchi.
Can you ride an original A-bomb survivor tram in Hiroshima?
Yes. Since May 2026 heritage trams including the hibaku densha — cars that were running on 6 August 1945 — have operated to a published timetable on the new loop line "L", which opened on 28 March 2026 and runs 10:00–16:00 only. It costs the same flat ¥240 as any other tram.