When you hear talking about Hiroshima, the first thing that might come to your mind is the world’s first atomic bomb attack in 1945. Today Hiroshima is a modern cosmopolitan city with a lot to offer, even though signs of that horrid history are still visible in some areas so as not to forget the past and to remember the victims.

Everybody knows that travel in Japan isn’t cheap, in fact it’s the most expensive country we’ve been so far, there are ways though to make it more financially accessible to people like us that travel on a budget.
We are more than happy to share some tips on how we enjoyed staying in Hiroshima without breaking the bank and still had an enjoyable time.
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Even the cheaper accommodations in Hiroshima were quite out of our daily budget with rates starting from 2400 Japanese Yen ($24) for a bed in a dorm.
We opted for Couchsurfing instead not only to save some money, but mainly to stay with someone from Hiroshima. In this way we got to to know the local community, got tips on best places to go that aren’t the usual tourist traps and experienced the local life from a culinary point of view and that’s just the top of the list of reasons..
We’ve been lucky enough to stay with a great guy that lives in a typical tiny Japanese flat (it couldn’t get any more local than that :) ). He was hosting other surfers at that time, we got to meet more travelers and share some stories, it felt almost like being in a hostel. We loved it!
What To Eat And Drink
Hiroshima is very famous for its very unique style of okonomiyaki also know as “Japanese pizza” or “Japanese pancake” made with eggs, cabbage, soba noodles (our favourite) and meat or seafood. Because okonomiyaki is cooked freshly as you order it, it’s possible to add more ingredients if you wish or ask for a vegetarian version of it.

The most affordable and reasonable okonomiyaki can be bought from a minimum of 600 – 900 Japanese Yen ($5.95 – $8.90). Some of them are very big and filling for the amount of ingredients in them so it can be shared between two people depending on the appetite.
We especially loved watching the spectacle that was the whole preparation and cooking which was done in front our eyes.

Another cheap option for us was eating at Sukiya a very popular Japanese restaurant chain that serves gyūdon for as little as 350 Japanese Yen ($3.50) per bowl.

We (especially Dale) abused any and all of the drink vending machines that offer many kinds of beverage such as cold & hot coffee and tea, energy drinks, juices and soy drinks for a minimum of 100 to 150 Japanese Yen ( $1 – $1.50). We tried many unusual drinks that we didn’t even know existed.

What To Do And See
We stayed only 4 days in Hiroshima of which 2 we used for day trips, in the remaining time we selected what to do.
We walked through and around the Peace Memorial Park. It’s where all the memorials linked to the atomic bomb are. From here we could see what it’s left of the A-Bomb Dome, the T-shaped bridge which was supposed to be the target of the bomb (but was missed) and the various monuments to those lost in the atrocity.
Wondering around the park area is free of charge apart from the very small entry fee of 50 Japanese Yen ($ 0.50) for the Peace Memorial Museum which we strongly recommend going to if you want to learn more about what happen in the 1945 and how Hiroshima was reconstructed afterwards. We thought it was important educating ourselves about such an important piece of history despite being quite upsetting.
Being art lovers we went to the Hiroshima Museum of Contemporary Art that has both permanent and temporary exhibitions. We also enjoyed chilling in the open-air area surrounded by sculptures. The entry fee is very cheap, only 360 Japanese Yen for adults ($3.50).

While in Hiroshima we went for a day trip to Miyajima famous for its floating torrii. To get there we took a JR train to Miyajimaguchi and then a JR Ferry to the island all for only 570 Japanese Yen one way for a total of 1040 Japanese Yen return ($11.25).

We hiked to the top of the mountain instead of taking the cable car, in this way not only we saved some $ but we also enjoyed the incredible nature of the red, orange and yellowing leaves around the path – not forgetting the stunning view.


Our Couchsurfing host took a day off work to take us to another great day trip that we are more than glad we did despite the transport being slightly more costly than some of the other activities we did, however, knowing how much we’d saved due to our other choices we thought we could pay a little more this one time.
He took us to the stunning Sandankyo Gorge which is a 16 km long ravine along Shiwaki river. We loved the immersed track right amongst the magnificent nature, watching the waterfalls, the river, the flora and fauna. It was during the autumn season which means the scenery was even more pretty with the leaves changing color.



It cost us 2560 Japanese Yen ($25) for the journey to go there and back included a JR train to Kabe station and from there a local bus to the gorge. We had a packed lunch with us that our host kindly made so we didn’t need to buy any food, we recommend to do the same not only to keep costs down, but to enjoy a nice picnic break on the rocks by the river.

There are probably more things we could have done in Hiroshima if we stayed longer, maybe one day if we ever make it back there.
Do you have any suggestions on things to do on a budget in Hiroshima?
About the Author
Franca, an Italian female who, after having dreamed about traveling for years, has finally left her job, comfort zone and sold everything she owned to set off on the journey of a life time. Since June 2012, Franca has been traveling full-time in search of the best Architecture, Art, Design & Music the world has to offer, sharing everything he finds along with her partner & co-blogger, Dale Davies. You can follow her and Dave’s adventure on their Twitter.
26 thoughts on “Honoring Hiroshima, Japan For Less Than $25 a Day”
I was also a HUGE fan of the Japanese vending machines! During the summer it was exceptionally hot, so these were lifesavers! Wish I’d tried the Japanese pizza, that sounds great!:-)
There are no vending machines in China, so I would definitely check out Japanese ones. Someone said pizza? I’m in! :)
It certainly sounds like an interesting place and good to see that the history is honoured in such a respectful way.
The walkways and colours from nature look wonderful making the place pretty.
I agree that the Japanese pizza/pancake looks great and very filling!
Agree. Indeed, the walkways and colours from nature look amazing. I keep starring at this photo and can’t believe how beautiful it is!
I really want to go to Japan, and most particularly here. I’m going to be saving your post so I can look back on your great tips when I finally make the trip a reality!
Cheers Jason. Cez is probably heading there this August. Fingers crossed. I am craving some sushi :).
Japan is so colourful! :) Thanks for some great tips and the okonomiyaki looks so good :)
I totally agree. I would say it’s more colorful than China, especially in summer.
Great article. Japan looks amazing and I’d love to visit there one day.
Thank you Jennifer! You should definitely go to Japan, it’s such an interesting country.
Thanks Jennifer. It does look beautiful, especially the mountains!
Thank you so much Agness and Cez for sharing this article here.
We hope it will be a great inspiration and the tips will be useful for many wanting to visit Hiroshima and Japan in general. :)
Franca, thank you for contributing. We love every single tip and hope to make it there soon. Thanks to you and Dave, we’re not that scared of the prices :)!!
Very timely information since we’re heading to Japan this winter.
Just awesome! Hope you’ll have an amazing time Talon! Keep us posted :).
Good to know that Japan doesn’t have to be all that outlandish! Thanks for all the tips-hope we’ll get to go to Japan one of these days :-D
True. Keep us posted, maybe we can meet up there! :-)
I love Japan so much! Luckily we have friends in Tokyo so we always have a place to stay. In fact, we’re going back next week! Haven’t been to Hiroshima yet, I know we’ll get there eventually.
What? That’s so wonderful. You guys are so lucky to have your friends there. You should definitely make it to Hiroshima,absolutely worth it :-).
I have never been to Japan, Hiroshima looks very interesting and the area for your day trips looks absolutely breath taking. I’m a big fan of Japanese food and love going to Japanese restaurants.
You’re not the only one. Having a real Japanese sushi is on my bucket list! :-)
Looks like you really lucked out with your CS host. That gorge looks fabulous and the food photos are mouthwatering. I think you’ve done really well on a budget in Japan.
They did really well with their budget for Japan. We will be definitely following their tips to do it as cheap as possible.
Very impressive! We would love to do (mean to travel there) Japan one day and budget/cost was our major worry. The food photos are very delicious and the okonomiyaki looks amazingly yummy.
Oh I remember the okonomiyaki! It was like a party in my mouth, so frigging delicious!
I gotta try it one day, so many fellow travellers recommended it to me!