When it comes to tourist attractions in Hiroshima, “Atomic Bomb Dome and Peace Memorial Park” and“Miyajima and Itsukushima Shrine” inevitably rise to the top, but there are several places that are not as well known on a national level but are still must-visits. One of them is Shukkeien Garden, which is introduced in this article.
In this article, we will touch on the charm of Shukkeien Garden and summarize how to get there. It is close to both Hiroshima Station and downtown Hatchobori, and even though it is in the center of the city, you can enjoy the tranquility surrounded by flowers, greenery, and water. We hope you will visit Shukkeien Garden.
What is Shukkeien Garden? Brief Background Knowledge
What is Shukkeien Garden?
Shukkeien Garden is located in the center of Hiroshima City. It is a so-called “daimyo’s garden” created in 1620 by Nagaakira Asano, the first feudal lord of the Hiroshima Domain in Aki Province, as his villa garden. The garden was created by Soko Ueda, a famous tea master and a retainer of the Asano clan.
The garden has a large pond and a drum bridge, and many seasonal flowers and trees are planted, attracting many Hiroshima citizens and tourists.
The park suffered a major fire in the Edo period (1603-1867) and was damaged by the atomic bombing during the war, but it has been restored each time and still shows us the beauty of the four seasons.
In 2020, the garden celebrates the 400th anniversary of its construction.
Where is Shukkeien located?
Shukkeien is located about 600 meters west of JR Hiroshima Station. It is about halfway between Hiroshima Station and Hiroshima Castle. The Hiroshima Prefectural Art Museum is next door, and nearby is the “Shukkeien-mae” stop on the Hiroshima Electric Railway’s Hakushima Line streetcar line.
General view from JR Hiroshima Station to Shukkeien Garden
First, please see the overall view of Shukkeien Garden from JR Hiroshima Station and other major points.
The blue arrows indicate the tram ride, and the red dotted line indicates the walk.
The nearest tram stop is “Shukkeien-mae “. This stop is on a short streetcar line called “Hakushima Line,” and you can change trains at “Hatchobori” stop.
There are four possible ways to get to Shukkeien Garden from JR Hiroshima Station.
- Take the “Meiplup” bus from the North Exit of Hiroshima Station (get off at “Kenritsu Bijutsukan Mae (in front of Shukkeien Garden)” )
- By streetcar from the South Exit of Hiroshima Station (get off at Hatchobori, transfer to the Hakushima Line, and get off at Shukkeien-mae)
- By cab
- On foot
I will tell you about each of them.
Please note that you can return to this map by clicking the “Return to Map” button on the way.
From Hiroshima Station to Shukkeien Garden 1: Take the “Meipuru-pu” bus from the North Exit of Hiroshima Station.
I believe that the city tram (streetcar) is the easiest way for tourists to get around Hiroshima City, but for Shukkeien Garden, the Meipuru-pu is the most convenient. First of all, let me introduce this.
What is Meipuruupu?
Meipuru-pu is a bus operated by Chugoku JR Bus that circles around major sightseeing spots and major points of interest in the city. It is mainly for tourists.
Meipuru-pu has three routes, the Green Route, Orange Route, and Lemon Route, depending on the way around. All three routes stop near Shukkeien Garden, but the Orange Route and Lemon Route are very convenient because they stop after Hiroshima Station.（The name of the bus stop is “Kenritsu Bijutsukan Mae (in front of Shukkeien Garden).
The buses can take you to various sightseeing spots in the center of Hiroshima other than Miyajima, and although the fare is the same as other city buses (240 yen per ride for adults), the 600 yen per ride (for adults) allows unlimited rides for the entire day, which is a good deal and especially popular among tourists.
From Hiroshima Station, take the “Orange Route” or “Lemon Route” and get off at the next stop!
This is the best way to get to Shukkeien from Hiroshima Station.
On the Orange Route and the Lemon Route, the next stop after Hiroshima Station is in front of the Prefectural Museum of Art (in front of Shukkeien Garden). This will take you 4 minutes by bus from Hiroshima Station and about 2 minutes on foot. The bus stop is located on the east side of Densha-dori, a little north of the streetcar stop.
The Green Route goes around the Peace Memorial Park and other places before going to the Prefectural Art Museum, so it takes 28 minutes by bus alone.
This is the road next to the Prefectural Art Museum. (The street to the left is the streetcar stop, and to the right is Shukkeien Garden.)
This is the entrance to Shukkeien Garden.
The Meipuru-pu stop at JR Hiroshima Station
The Meipuru-pu stop at Hiroshima Station is located at the north exit of the station.
There is a large staircase going down to the first floor in the north-south free passageway of Hiroshima Station.
The entrance of EKIE Dining is on the right. The entrance to EKIE Dining is on the right, and the bus roundabout is straight ahead.
The Meipuru-pu bus departs from and arrives at the bus stop just after the bus roundabout.
- One ride costs 240 yen for adults and 120 yen for children (6 years old and older, under 12 years old). The price is the same as that of city trains and buses.
- One-day passes are available at the JR Express Bus Ticket Office on the 2nd floor of the Shinkansen Exit of Hiroshima Station or on board the bus. The fare is 600 yen for adults and 300 yen for children (unlimited rides on the same day).
- The Green Route and Orange Route together run from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (until 7:30 p.m. between March 1 and October 31), and approximately every 30 minutes, depending on the time. (Please see the official website for times)
- It takes 4 minutes from Hiroshima Station to the Prefectural Museum of Art (Shukkeien-mae).
Click here for the official website of Chugoku JR Bus .
From Hiroshima Station to Shukkeien 2 : From Hiroshima Station South Exit to Hatchobori by streetcar
The second way is to use the city tram (streetcar). Although there is a change of streetcars , this is also easy to understand.
I will post the map again at the beginning of this article, but it looks like this. From Hiroshima Station, take the streetcar to Hatchobori, then change to the Hakushima Line, and the second stop is the Shukkeien-mae stop.
For now, let me explain from the Central Exit ticket gate of JR Hiroshima Station.
After exiting the Central Exit, you will see a north-south free passageway. You will see a big sign that says “South Exit.
Go down the escalator (and stairs) to the first floor.
Follow the street for a while and you will come to a point where the streetcar and bus lines 6-9 and bus lines 1-5 divide, so take the streetcar and bus lines 6-9 (left).
Do not go to “Mazda Stadium” or “Taxi” before that point.
You will be on the tram platform.
All trams except No.5 stop at “Hatchobori”. You can take any tram, except those bound for “Hiroshima Port via Hijiyamashita”, Miyajima-guchi, Eba, or Hiroshima Port via Hatchobori.
The fare is 240 yen for adults and 120 yen for children (6 to 12 years old).
Trams will be charged a flat fare of 240 yen for the entire line from February 1, 2025 (Saturday).
13 minutes from Hiroshima Station, you will arrive at “Hatchobori” (6th stop).
Get off here and change to “Hatchobori” of the Hakushima Line. You can’t see it from this angle, but just cross the pedestrian crossing and you will be in the area circled by the red dotted line.
When you get off the bus, please pay the fare of 240 yen and tell the driver or conductor that you are transferring to the Hakushima Line. You will then be given a “train transfer ticket.
Take the ticket to the Hakushima Line and put it in the fare box when you get off the train, and you will not be charged for the Hakushima Line.(If you do not use this ticket, you will be charged the Hakushima Line fare of 240 yen for adults and 120 yen for children, in addition to the local fare of 240 yen.)
For more information, click here Hiroshima Electric Railway: How to use the train: Transfer system
The Hakushima Line [bound for Hakushima] stops at Hatchobori → Jogakuin-mae → Shukkeien-mae → Family Court-mae → Hakushima.
This picture shows the Shukkeien-mae stop. (This is the platform for Hatchobori direction. The platform for Shirajima direction is in front of the intersection and is not shown in the picture). The Prefectural Museum of Art can be seen beyond the train. Shukkeien Garden is about a minute away from the prefectural museum, passing on the right.
Here is a simple map. Please use it as a reference.
By city bus from the bus terminal at the south exit of Hiroshima Station
We checked routes from Hiroshima Station to Shukkeien by city buses such as Hiroshima Bus and Hiroshima Electric Railway, but could not find any suitable routes. There are some routes that extend to bus stops a little farther away, but they are not very useful, so for the purposes of this article, we will assume that only Meipuru-pu is used for buses.
From Hiroshima Station to Shukkeien Garden 3 : How to get there by cab
Cab stands are located at the North and South Exits.
Of course, you can also take a cab from JR Hiroshima Station. This is a good option for families or small groups.
There are cab stands at both the South and North Exits, but as of September 2023, the South Exit of Hiroshima Station is under construction for redevelopment (scheduled for completion in spring 2025), and the cab stands are temporary. As there are only two cars waiting, the cab stand at the North Exit would be a better choice. (We will introduce both).
South Exit Taxi Stand
With the opening of the Minamoa station building at the south exit in March of this year, a large cab stand was opened at the south exit.
To get there, head in the direction of the south exit (right) from the central ticket gate, and you will see stairs (and escalator) going down to the first floor. Go down to the first floor, and the cab stand is on the left side.
Walk down the passageway a short distance and turn left along the information board. On the left is Minamore, on the right is still under construction (as of July 2025).
Opposite the entrance of Minamoa, on the right side is the cab stand.
If you swing the camera to the right, this is what you see. There are quite a few cabs.
North Entrance Taxi Stand
The North Exit cab stand is located a little further (west) from the Meipuru~pu stop I mentioned at the beginning, in front of the Hotel Granvia.
Again, I will tell you from the free passageway of JR Hiroshima Station.
First, go down the big stairs on the north side of the free passage near the Shinkansen ticket gates.
Downstairs. Walk to the front left with the entrance of EKIE Dining on your right.
Go through the glass-walled area and in front of Nippon Ryoko is the cab stand.
This is what it looks like. The cab stand at the north exit is bigger and has more cars than the temporary stand at the south exit, so I recommend it.
Cab fares were revised on June 26, 2023, and the fare for a standard car within Hiroshima City is now 750 yen for the first 1,500 meters, and 80 yen for every 264 meters thereafter.
The distance from the cab stand to Shukkeien Garden is about 850 meters, so the fare is 750 yen. The ride takes 3 to 4 minutes.
From Hiroshima Station to Shukkeien Garden 4 : Enjoy the riverside of Hiroshima on foot!
It is also pleasant to go on foot while enjoying the scenery of Hiroshima City, although this means that your legs must be healthy.
The distance from the central ticket gate of Hiroshima Station to the entrance of Shukkeien Garden is about 1,000 meters, and I actually walked there the other day and measured the time to be about 16 minutes.
On the way, there are parks along the Enko River and Kyobashi River, which are typical of the river town of Hiroshima, and there is a statue of the A-bomb victims at the Noborimachi Junior High School. I also recommend walking to Shukkeien Garden.
I plan to write an article on “Walking from Hiroshima Station to Shukkeien Garden.
I have included a Google map of the area around Shukkeien Garden for your reference.
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