//
Photo: Taisyo at Japanese Wikipedia, CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Probably the most deserving of a visit among Hiroshima's art museums. There are a few famous Western names in its collection, including Andy Warhol and Frank Stella, but the real focus is on interesting modern Japanese artists working in their own styles, and the exhibition designers make creative use of the museum space. Special exhibitions cost extra. There is a sculpture garden outside that can be visited for free, and a decent city-view from the plaza near the museum's front steps.
The Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art is an art museum founded in 1989. It is in Hijiyama Park in Hiroshima, Japan. The building was designed by architect Kisho Kurokawa. It was the first public contemporary art museum to open in Japan, and its exhibitions focus on post-1945, contemporary emerging artists and artworks that link contemporary art with Hiroshima.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
広島市立まんが図書館
Around the corner from the Museum of Contemporary Art (below). The vast majority of the manga are in Japanese, of course, but they do have a selection of Western superhero comics.
比治山公園
A huge park to the south of JR Hiroshima Station, between two branches of the river. (Follow Ekimae-dori from the station to the southeast, and you'll walk directly into it.) There are the usual areas for sitting in the sun (and rather a lot of stray cats), but much of the park remains refreshingly undeveloped forest, save for a futuristic tunnel to SATY, a neighboring shopping complex and movie theater.
The much-beloved and much-bemoaned Carp are Hiroshima's entry in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. After more than fifty years in a stadium across the street from the Peace Park, the Carp moved to the new Mazda Zoom Zoom Stadium in 2009. While the team doesn't win much, the enthusiasm of the fans can hardly be faulted, and Hiroshima is as good a place as any to witness the fervor of Japanese baseball fandom. Tickets range from ¥1800 to ¥3500. Ask for the Carp Performance (カープ パフォーマンス) tickets — that's where the drums, chants, and excitement are. Tickets are sold at the stadium starting at 10:00, the "Green Window" at JR Hiroshima Station, and a number of convenience stores.
Bowling alley and entertainment center, popular with locals of all ages in Hiroshima (it is also present elsewhere in Japan). The first three floors consist of an expansive arcade, with racing games, classical arcade games, horror games, claw machines, and gambling/slot machines. The following four floors have bowling alleys, and the final floor has food, billiards, ping pong, and darts. Prices depend on what you're doing, and for how long.
袋町小学校平和資料館
Like Honkawa, part of the original school building that remained standing after the atomic bomb has been converted into a museum. In the days after the explosion, survivors used the school's chalk to leave messages for lost friends and family members on its blackened walls.
After the A-Bomb Dome, the former bank is the best-known pre-bomb structure in Hiroshima. Built in 1936, the city's main branch of the Nippon Ginko was only 380 m from the hypocenter; although its exterior remained intact, all 42 people inside the bank were killed by the heat of the blast. Remarkably, the bank was back in service only two days after the bomb and continued operation until 1992, when it was acquired by the city. Occasional art exhibitions are now held there. Hours of access are irregular, but it's worth stopping by to check.