Walk from Hiroshima Station to Mazda Stadium! Guided tour with photos and video

In professional baseball, teams are fighting hotly day after day. Fans can’t get enough of it!

In the Central League, my hometown Hiroshima Carp is doing well again this year!
Of course, I am a big Carp fan myself!

Nowadays, the Carp has become stronger and the number of fans has increased nationwide, but I know the time when the team used to be in the bottom of the Central League every year and was considered a liability in the Central League. (^_^;

I know the time when the Carp fans used to be all old men (?). (^_^; Once, the Carp fans were all old men (?), but now there are many women and men and women of all ages cheering for the Carp.

The team has even become a baseball team with fans beyond Hiroshima and across the country.

The other day, I was watching the Sep-Ap interchange game on TV, and when I saw that half of the stadium was dyed red, it brought tears to my eyes.

I want to cheer them on every game to win the league championship and Japan’s No. 1 title again this year. p(^-^)q

This time, I actually walked along the path along the JR Sanyo Main Line from the south exit of JR Hiroshima Station to the Mazda Stadium… a.k.a. “Carp Road,” and took pictures of the signs, stores, and various scenes along the way.

Along with the images, we have also included a video taken in real time, so we hope you can feel as if you were walking along with us. (The video is about 20 minutes long).

Note that there are also ways to get to Mazda Stadium by bus or car (the bus stop is located about 3 minutes from the stadium). I wrote about access by bus or car in this article, if you would like to read about it.

How long does it take to walk from Hiroshima Station to Mazda Stadium?

The distance from Hiroshima Station to Mazda Stadium is a little over 900 meters. Depending on how you walk, it would take about 13 or 14 minutes. (In the video, it took about 16 minutes.)

You can also walk from Tenjingawa Station, the next station to the east. It is about 1.3 km or about 20 minutes to Mazda Stadium. I have tried walking there before, but there are only company warehouses and office buildings along the way, and it is a long distance, so I think it is better to walk from Hiroshima Station.

Walking from Hiroshima Station to Mazda Stadium! Details of “Carp Road

If it is a game day, about 2 hours before the game starts, you will see many people in red uniforms and T-shirts walking toward the stadium, so if you follow them, you will arrive without hesitation! (LOL)
Like this….

I’m not sure if I’m supposed to be there….

I will explain the route, introducing some stores and other points of interest along the way. I hope you will check it out before you go.

The path is called “Carp Road,” a small road near the railroad tracks. On days when there are no games, it is an ordinary road, but on days when there are games, many Carp fans come and go. (By the way, I took this photo on a day when there was no game, so there was no Carp-like atmosphere at all (sweat).

I also took a video while walking along. Please take a look at the video at the end of this article.

(1) From the Shinkansen concourse to the free passageway, stairs to the south exit, and temporary passageway (5 minutes)

*Times are approximate walking times when the paths are empty. It may take a little longer when it is crowded.

Let us assume that you are coming by Shinkansen.

There are two ticket gate exits: the Shinkansen Exit on the left in front of the ticket gate, and the ” Conventional Line Transfer Exit” where you turn to the right on the way to the ticket gate.

I drew a rough diagram. Follow this red arrow.

Go through the “ conventional line transfer ticket gate” and exit at the central exit ticket gate. This is where you are.

When you exit the ticket gate, there is a station building called “ekie” in front of you, and the south exit is on your right.

You will see a big signboard. The stairs are just ahead.

Currently, the south exit of the station is undergoing a large-scale urban development project and has been under construction for a long time; it is scheduled to be completed in the spring of 2025, which is very exciting. Right now, you will go through a temporary passageway from here.

Please follow the path after descending the stairs.

(2) From the point where the temporary pathway splits in the middle to the entrance of Carp Road (3 minutes)

After walking for a while, you will come to this sign. To the left is the underground plaza at the south exit, and to the right is the tram and bus stop. Go right here. The video starts from here.

After walking about 15 meters, you will come to a fork in the road. The left side is for the tramway. By the way, the right side is for the bus stop.

There are coin lockers on the right side of the street, so if you want to leave your luggage there, you can use them. (There may not be many available when there is a game.)

You are now at the South Exit. The tram stop “Hiroshima Station” is on the right, and the construction fence is on the right.

If you pull back a little, it looks like this.
The large glass-walled building on the left of the photo is EKICITY HIROSHIMA, a large-scale commercial facility that can be called a landmark of the South Exit of Hiroshima Station. It houses Tsutaya Electric Appliances, EDION, Starbucks, etc., as well as a 46-story residential building.

Cross the traffic light in front of “EKICITY HIROSHIMA” and walk to the left.

Keep the “EKI CITY” building on your right and turn right down the street. After this will be the beginning of the so-called Carp Road.

You have just turned the corner. After that, just keep going along this road. (^-^)

(3) From the corner of “EKICITY HIROSHIMA”, walk along the road to the crossing of Prefectural Road No. 70 (4 minutes)

Keep walking straight.

It is behind “EKI CITY”.

A little further on, on your left, you will find “Gomenya Carp Road Branch,” a ramen, cold noodle, and izakaya restaurant. The red signboard and banner are conspicuously displayed to match the Carp.

The sign used to be a large banner, but now there is a board that reads, “Carp girl’s spirit, we are carp for the Carp! is now written on a board. It is fun to read. The restaurant is always playing the Carp’s cheering song, which makes me feel excited even if I don’t like it (laugh).

Past this Kuremenya, on the wire fence by the railroad tracks to the left, there are several signs showing the history of manager Arai: from joining the Carp in 1998, to winning the home run king in 2005, winning the league championship in 2016, etc…. It’s nostalgic (^-^) We hope you will enjoy looking at them as you walk along.

At the end, there was a sign like this by Director Arai.

(4) From the crossing of Prefectural Road No. 70 to the Aragami Overpass (1.5 minutes)

After going for a while, you will come to the crossing of Saigoku Kaido. On your left is a railroad crossing. There are many cars coming and going here, and there is a pedestrian crossing, but it is a bit scary, so please be very careful crossing it.

When I went there, a police officer was out there directing traffic. (I don’t think there are always police officers on days when there are games.)

Follow the road on a slightly curved path, keeping the railroad crossing on your left. The right hand side here is a busy area with several stores including a lunch box shop, a flower shop, and a barbecue shop. On the day we went there, it was as lively as if it were a festival. (^-^)

Toshi” is another long-established yakiniku restaurant.

(5) From the Akebono-dori overpass (Aragami overpass) to Aka Lawson (1.5 minutes)

Walk a little further and you will pass under a large overpass (Aragami overpass/Akebono-dori). You will see the Hiroshima Intelligent Hotel on your right.

Around this point, you will see a series of billboards with pictures of the players on the left. This area is called “Hiroshima Carp Cheering Road”. I did not know that… (^^;)

Matsuyama Ryuhei, Tanaka Kosuke, Kikuchi Ryosuke… Signs of the current Red Helmet warriors continue. On the right side, there is an okonomiyaki restaurant “Tanpopo”.

I don’t know the name of the store, but there is a store that sells Carp uniforms and other goods.

A little further on, there is a Lawson on the right. The Lawson here is a rare store, commonly called “Red Lawson. The basic color of Lawson is blue, but it is colored Carp red, which is probably quite rare in Japan.

When there is a game, this Lawson is crowded with Carp fans who buy drinks and snacks. (However, no food or beverages are allowed in the stadium.)

It is also used as a meeting place because it is easy to find. “Meet me in front of the Red Lawson at 5:00 p.m.! And so on.

Actually, I had a failed story before.

When I went to see the show with my friends, I told them to meet me in front of the Red Lawson at 5:00 p.m. I was going to meet up with my friends. But, as it turned out, there was another Red Lawson! Actually, there is another Red Lawson on the south side of the stadium. One of my friends was waiting there.

You can already see a little bit of the red wall of the stadium around here.

(6) After passing the red Lawson, go up the slope to the stadium (2 minutes)

After passing the red Lawson, you will see many more signs.

There is a path to enter to the right, but keep going straight. You will see the lights of the stadium in front of you, and ahead of you is the hill going up to the stadium.

The color of the road changes around here, and it becomes a slope toward the entrance of the stadium.

Incidentally, there is a coffee shop called Musika on the first road to the right. If I am not mistaken, it is one of the oldest coffee shops in Hiroshima.
I remember it was located in the center of the city when I was in high school. I am sorry, but I have not checked if there was another store here since then.

(7) Climbing up the slope, we arrived at the main gate! (2.5 minutes)

On the day I went there, there were people (stores) selling yakiniku bento (barbeque) lunches and beer from their cars, and it was kind of like a real festival (laughs).

On the left side of the hill, near the stadium, there is a section called “Carp’s Star. There are bronze plates ofpast managers such as Ryohei Hasegawa, Toshiyuki Mimura, and Takeshi Chiba , as well as pitchers Sotokiba and Yoshihiko Takahashi, and other famous players of the past (in the back area on the left side of the photo). If you have time, please take a look.

This is a plate of Mr. Kitabeppu, who regrettably passed away the other day.

This is the plaque of Tsunemi Tsuda, the “flame stopper.

The aisle has changed further, and the ballpark is finally in front of us.

The wall on the left side of this area is decorated with various photos and illustrations every year, and it is fun to see many photos of Arai from the time he joined the team to the present day. (^-^)

Wow… young… (*^_^*)

Going up while looking at them, yes, you have arrived!

This is the main gate. If you have a ticket, you will enter from here.

(8) How to buy tickets on the day of the event

If you do not have a ticket, go down to the first floor from the stairs on the right,

If you do not have a ticket, go down to the first floor from the stairs on the right and walk a little to the left to find the same-day ticket booth.

In front of the ticket booth, there is a display showing the history of the Carp and the handprints of some of the players. It is interesting to see them before the game.

The front of the stadium, where you often see the word “Mazda Stadium” in photos, is a short walk further on. There is also an entrance to the stadium from here.

The above is a guide to “Carp Road” from the South Exit of Hiroshima Station to Mazda Stadium.

You can easily get lost even if you have never been there before, as you will keep the Sanyo Main Line tracks to your left. Of course, on days when there is a game, there are many Carp fans and fans of the opposing team walking along the road, so you can’t go wrong… (laughs).

(If you like, you can watch a video I took while walking along the path.

Lastly, I went back and forth again on the day of the event and shot a video.

It is about 20 minutes long, shot in real time along the route I described in the article, from the middle of the temporary walkway at the South Exit of Hiroshima Station to Mazda Stadium.

We hope you will come to Mazda Stadium sometime!　And let’s feel that heat with all our bodies and cheer together passionately and happily!

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Here is a list of articles related to Hiroshima on this blog. You can jump to each article from here, including sightseeing spots in Hiroshima, if you like.