Hiroshima's history did not begin in 1945. Walk the Mōri castle earthworks of 1589, the Meiji army port that shipped soldiers to Manchuria, and the survivor buildings that stood 300m from the hypocenter and are still standing today.
Mōri Terumoto built this delta fortress from 1589; the 1958 concrete keep houses a samurai-era museum. The original 1599 tenshu survived until 08:15, 6 Aug 1945, when the blast wave 900m away collapsed it. Open 09:00-18:00 (Mar-Nov).
Hiroshima has 170 registered hibakujumoku — trees that survived the bomb. The eucalyptus and willow inside the castle grounds stood 740m from the hypocenter, burned to charred stumps, then re-sprouted in spring 1946. Free, always open.
Founded 1868 to enshrine the Hiroshima domain's war dead, moved inside the castle grounds in 1956. Its predecessor stood near the hypocenter and was obliterated. The 1965 rebuild is now the city's busiest hatsumōde shrine at New Year.
If staying central, walk the Chūō-kōen foundations: the Fifth Division HQ, the Chief of Staff's office where the first radio report of the bombing was sent, and the Gohonmaru well, all left as exposed concrete ruins inside the castle park.
460m from the hypocenter, this 1937 reinforced-concrete school's west stairwell survived. In 1999 renovators found chalk messages from August 1945 under the plaster — survivors writing names of the missing. Open 09:00-17:00, closed 30 Dec-3 Jan.
Built 1936, 380m from the hypocenter. The steel shutters were closed on three windows, so those rooms survived while open-window rooms burned out. It reopened for business on 8 August 1945 — two days after the bomb. Open 10:00-17:00.
Ujina was built in 1889 as Japan's main military embarkation port; troops sailed from here for the Sino-Japanese, Russo-Japanese and Pacific wars. On 6 Aug 1945 around 10,000 wounded were ferried to Ninoshima's quarantine station, where mass graves were found in 2004.
The closest school to the hypocenter at 410m; of roughly 400 pupils and 10 staff present that morning, one child and one teacher survived. The preserved basement retains blast-scarred walls and a 1945 wall painting found during 1988 demolition.
Founded 593, rebuilt in its current over-water form by Taira no Kiyomori in 1168. The 16.6m camphor-wood ōtorii of 1875 is the eighth on the site. UNESCO listed 1996. Open 06:30-18:00; JR ferry from Miyajimaguchi takes 10 minutes.
Toyotomi Hideyoshi ordered this vast sutra hall in 1587 to chant for war dead; he died in 1598 and it was never finished — no ceiling, unpainted pillars. The vermilion 27m pagoda beside it dates to 1407. Open 08:30-16:30.
One street inland from the souvenir arcade sits the old merchant quarter: Edo-period machiya with lattice fronts, the 1739 Daiganji temple and workshops still carving shakushi rice paddles, an island craft begun by the monk Seishin in 1800.
Seven working breweries within 500m, most founded 1650-1900, identified by red-brick chimneys and namako-kabe plaster walls. Modern sake brewing was invented here by Miura Senzaburō in 1898. 35 minutes by JR Sanyō Line from Hiroshima Station.