It got better
by doing nothing.
Orizuru Tower was a marginal proposition until March 2026, when Hiroshima Castle's keep closed permanently and took the city's best-known view with it. Nothing about the tower changed. Its competition simply stopped existing — so if you are asking where you get a view over Hiroshima now, this is the answer, and almost nobody on the first page of Google is giving it.
¥2,200 for an adult plus a ¥100 paper-crane fee — about $14.60 all in — open 10:00–18:00 with last entry at 17:30, and your ticket allows unlimited same-day re-entry, which nobody mentions and which changes how you use it. The one genuine reason to go up is the A-Bomb Dome seen from above. The recurring complaint is real: safety mesh across the open deck spoils most photographs.
Its competition closed, and that is the argument
The honest caseHiroshima Castle's keep shut 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 and is years away. That was the city's best-known paid view, and it is gone.
So Orizuru Tower is now the main paid viewpoint in Hiroshima, not because it improved but because the alternative vanished. "Where do I get a view over Hiroshima?" is a question with exactly one paid answer as of March 2026, and three of the ten pages currently ranking for this city are still telling readers to climb a keep they cannot enter. That is the state of the competition.
The tower stands directly across from the A-Bomb Dome at the northern edge of the park. From the top you look down on the ruin: you see the shape of the shell, the empty floor plates, the river behind it and the modern city pressing in on all four sides. At ground level the Dome reads as a monument. From above it reads as an office building on a corner, which is what it was.
The mesh, and what it does to your photographs
The complaintThe consistent criticism in visitor reviews is the safety mesh strung across the open-air deck. It is there for obvious reasons and it is not coming down, and it sits directly in the sightline that people paid to photograph. Phone cameras focus on the mesh, wide shots pick up the grid, and the picture you imagined mostly does not survive it.
Go with your eyes rather than your camera and the deck is fine. Go specifically for the photograph and you will be annoyed — and the free alternative is 90 seconds away: the Dome floodlit at night from the riverbank costs nothing, has no mesh, and is on the Dome page along with the best hours for it.
The fix for the mesh, if there is one, is the unlimited same-day re-entry that comes with the ticket. Go up once when you arrive, see what the light is doing, walk the park, and come back at 17:00 when the sun is lower and the Dome has shadow in it — at no extra cost. That is the single most useful thing about the ticket and it appears on no other page about this tower.
What it costs, exactly
PricesConfirmed 4 August 2026. Note the ¥100 paper-crane fee — it applies to every category, including the free survivor admission, and it is not optional.
| Ticket | Standard | Disability rate | Plus crane fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult | ¥2,200 (~$13.95) | ¥1,100 | +¥100 |
| Junior high and high school | ¥1,400 | ¥700 | +¥100 |
| Elementary school | ¥900 | ¥400 | +¥100 |
| Age 4 and over | ¥600 | ¥300 | +¥100 |
| A-bomb survivor card holders | Free | Free | +¥100 |
An adult therefore pays ¥2,300 all in, about $14.60 — eleven times the ¥200 museum admission next door. 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.
Where to get height in Hiroshima now
ComparedThe castle closure reshuffled this list in March 2026. This is what is actually available.
| Option | Cost | What you see | Call |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orizuru Tower | ¥2,200 + ¥100 crane fee | The A-Bomb Dome from above, Peace Memorial Park laid out, the delta and the hills. Safety mesh across much of it — but unlimited same-day re-entry. | DEPENDS |
| Hiroshima Castle keep | — | Nothing. Closed permanently on 22 March 2026 after 68 years; the grounds, moat and bomb-scarred walls remain open and free. | SKIP |
| The park at ground level | Free | The Dome at eye level from the riverbank, floodlit after dark, with no mesh and no ticket. The strongest version of the building. | WORTH IT |
| Mount Misen ropeway | ¥2,000 return · ¥1,100 one way | The Seto Inland Sea rather than the city — a different view, 45 minutes away, and the ropeway stops 30 minutes short of the actual summit. | DEPENDS |
All fares and admissions confirmed 4 August 2026. The only figure Orizuru Tower does not publish is its closed days. 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 visitOrizuru Tower — the questions
FAQPage schema pairedHow much does Orizuru Tower cost?
¥2,200 for an adult, ¥1,400 for junior high and high school, ¥900 for elementary and ¥600 from age 4 — plus a ¥100 paper-crane fee on every category. An adult therefore pays ¥2,300, about $14.60. Disability rates are ¥1,100 / ¥700 / ¥400 / ¥300, and A-bomb survivor card holders enter free, though the ¥100 crane fee still applies. For scale, the museum next door is ¥200 and the outdoor park is free.
Is Orizuru Tower worth it?
It depends on why you are going up. For the view straight down onto the A-Bomb Dome — an angle you cannot get anywhere else — yes, and the case got stronger on 22 March 2026 when Hiroshima Castle's keep closed permanently and left this as the city's only paid viewpoint. For photographs, no: the safety mesh across the deck defeats most of them. At ¥2,300 all in it is eleven times the museum's admission, so go up deliberately rather than because it is there.
What are Orizuru Tower's opening hours?
10:00 to 18:00, with last entry at 17:30 — so it is a daytime proposition, not an evening one, and it opens two and a half hours after the Peace Memorial Museum. Its closed days are the one thing still not published; check before making a special trip.
Can you go back up on the same ticket?
Yes — the ticket carries unlimited same-day re-entry, and it is the most useful thing about it. Go up when you arrive, walk the park for two hours, then come back at 17:00 when the light is lower and the Dome has shadow in it, at no extra cost. Almost no other page about this tower mentions it.
Can I climb Hiroshima Castle instead for the view?
No. The keep closed permanently on 22 March 2026 after 68 years, because the 1958 reinforced-concrete reconstruction failed earthquake standards, and the planned wooden rebuild is years away. The grounds, moat, bomb-scarred stone walls and Ninomaru reconstruction are all still open and still free — but the tower you would have climbed is shut.
What is at the top of Orizuru Tower?
An open-air observation deck looking over Peace Memorial Park, the A-Bomb Dome and the delta, with the mesh across it. Beyond the deck itself, the building's other features are not in our verified set, so we are not describing facilities we have not confirmed. Allow about an hour for the visit.
Where is Orizuru Tower and how do you get there?
It stands directly across from the A-Bomb Dome at the northern edge of Peace Memorial Park. Hiroden line 2 or 6 to Genbaku Dome-mae, about 15 minutes from Hiroshima Station at the flat ¥240 fare, then roughly a minute on foot. 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.
Is it a good option with children or in the rain?
The deck is open-air, so rain removes most of the point — the indoor options are a better use of a wet afternoon. With children the mesh is actually an advantage, and an hour is about the right length. The ¥200 museum next door is free for junior high and under, which changes the arithmetic on where to spend.
Tickets and what else is nearby
Book itThe admission price is not something we could verify, so the ticket link is the reliable place to see it.