Hiroshima

Mongolian citizens need a Japanese visa. Residents of Mongolia apply online for a JAPAN eVISA through VFS Global: a single-entry tourist visa for up to 90 days, fee 357,000₮ (≈¥15,000) since 29 June 2026, five times the old rate (multiple-entry 714,000₮), plus a 55,000₮ VFS service charge, about 5 working days. Transit visas are no longer issued. Your passport must be valid for more than 6 months; attach a return ticket and hotel booking.

Tip: If you connect in Seoul, check Korea's transit rules too; if you stay airside you usually need no visa.

The Peace Memorial Museum requires an online advance booking for 7:30–8:30 in the morning and for extended peak-season slots; at other times a web ticket still shortens the queue. Mazda Museum's English tour is free but opens 3 months ahead and fills fast. Check the tide table for your Miyajima day: see the torii 'floating' at high tide and walk up to it at low tide.

Tip: Around the 6 August Peace Memorial Ceremony, hotels fill up very early and prices rise.

Before flying, enter your passport, flight and hotel on Visit Japan Web and fill in the immigration and customs declarations; on arrival you scan the QR code. Customs strictly bans meat and meat products (borts, sausages). Travel insurance is a must.

From Kansai take the JR Haruka express to Shin-Osaka, then the Sanyo Shinkansen Nozomi or Mizuho to Hiroshima in ~1 h 25 min, about ¥10,750–10,950 for a reserved seat. Hikari and Sakura are a bit slower but covered by the Japan Rail Pass.

Hiroshima Airport sits in the hills about 50 km from the city. The limousine bus to Hiroshima Station takes ~50 minutes and costs ¥1,500; IC cards are accepted. There is no train.

Fly MIAT to Tokyo, then take the Nozomi Shinkansen from Tokyo Station to Hiroshima in ~4 hours, from ~¥18,380 for a non-reserved seat. Nozomi needs a ¥6,500 supplement with the Japan Rail Pass; alternatively a domestic flight from Haneda takes ~90 minutes.

If your phone supports eSIM, buy and install one from Airalo, Ubigi or Japan Wireless before the flight: a 7-day 1–3 GB plan costs about $4–8, a 30-day 10 GB plan about $16–18. It works the moment you land.

Tip: Museum web tickets and the Mazda booking arrive on your phone — save screenshots.

Kansai Airport's arrivals hall has tourist SIM counters and vending machines; show your passport. Japanese tourist SIMs are usually data only, no calls. Electronics stores near Hiroshima Station such as Bic Camera and Edion also sell them.

A tram ride costs a flat ¥240 and a one-day pass ¥700; a combined pass with the Miyajima ferry costs ¥1,000. From Hiroshima Station, line 2 or 6 reaches Genbaku-Domu-mae (the Dome) in ~15 minutes. The sightseeing loop bus costs ¥240 a ride or ¥600 for a day pass and is covered by the Japan Rail Pass. Pay with an ICOCA or Suica card.

Take the JR Sanyo Line from Hiroshima Station to Miyajimaguchi (~25 minutes, ¥420), then the JR or Matsudai ferry (~10 minutes, ¥200). Every visit to the island carries the ¥100 Miyajima visitor tax (charged automatically at IC-card gates; JR Pass holders buy it separately). A direct fast boat from the Peace Park takes ~45 minutes for ¥2,400.

Tip: The JR ferry passes close to the torii, so you see the gate from the sea.

Japan only recognises international driving permits issued under the 1949 Geneva Convention; Mongolia is a party to the 1968 Vienna Convention instead, so a Mongolian licence or a Mongolian-issued international permit cannot be used to drive or rent a car in Japan. Use trains, trams, ferries and taxis.

Department stores, chain restaurants, transport and museums take cards, but some Okonomimura stalls, small shops on Miyajima and shrines are cash only. Withdraw yen with a foreign card at Seven Bank ATMs inside 7-Eleven stores or at post office ATMs.

Tourists spending over ¥5,000 in one shop on one day are exempt from the 10% consumption tax. From 1 November 2026 you pay the full price in the shop and claim the refund at the airport before departure — keep your receipts.

Cabbage, pork, noodles and egg are layered on a thin crepe and finished with sweet 'Otafuku' sauce. At Okonomimura's many stalls one costs ~¥900–1,500. Eat it straight off the hotplate in front of the cook with a small spatula.

Tip: Many stalls take a mid-afternoon break — go at lunch or dinner time.

On Miyajima try grilled oysters (kaki) — best in winter; anago-meshi (conger eel on rice); and maple-leaf-shaped momiji manju cakes (buy them freshly baked). In Kure try navy curry, in Onomichi Onomichi ramen.

Tip: No tipping in restaurants; on Miyajima the deer will snatch your food, so take care eating outdoors.

Police 110, ambulance and fire 119 — free, 24 hours. The JNTO Japan Visitor Hotline 050-3816-2787 (24 hours, English).

Early summer brings downpours and landslides, late summer typhoons — when warnings are issued, stay off mountain trails and away from Sandankyo. In the heat, give children hats, water and salt. Typhoons cancel trains, ferries and flights, so leave a spare day at the end of the trip.

Miyajima's deer are wild: feeding is banned, and they chew paper and maps and can shove — keep children back. If you fall ill, call your insurer's assistance line first; find English-speaking clinics on JNTO's site.

The Peace Park and museum are places to remember the victims: speak quietly, don't joke around, and avoid selfies or playful photos in front of the Cenotaph. Pausing to pay respects at the Cenotaph is appropriate. You may offer paper cranes at the Children's Peace Monument. Listen to hibakusha (survivor) testimony with respect.

At Shinto shrines such as Itsukushima, bow twice, clap twice and bow once. No phone calls on trams and trains, and keep your voice low. On trams you board at the back and pay at the front when getting off. Street bins are rare: carry rubbish back to your hotel.

No tipping — it can even cause offence. Many places take orders through a ticket machine. Don't stand chopsticks upright in rice or pass food chopstick to chopstick (funeral customs).

Google Maps shows tram, train and bus times and platforms precisely in Japan. For Shinkansen and ferry timetables and fares, Japan Transit Planner (Jorudan) is more detailed.

The MOBIRY TRAVEL app puts tram and Miyajima ferry day passes on your phone. Mazda Museum can only be booked on its official site. Google Translate's camera mode translates menus.

Visit Japan Web — the immigration and customs QR code. Safety tips — earthquake, typhoon, heavy-rain and heatstroke alerts.

The Shinkansen from Hiroshima to Shin-Osaka takes ~1 h 25 min, then the Haruka express to Kansai. Plan to be at the airport 3 hours before MIAT's flight, so leave Hiroshima at least 5–6 hours ahead. If flying from Hiroshima Airport, the limousine bus takes ~50 minutes.

Since 1 July 2026 Japan's International Tourist Tax on departure is ¥3,000 — it is included in the ticket price. From 1 November the tax-free refund is collected at the airport before the flight — keep receipts and carry the goods unopened.