When it rains in Hiroshima Prefecture, eight museums and aquariums keep you dry: five in Hiroshima City, one in Kure, one on Miyajima and one in Fukuyama. This guide compares them on adult entry fee, parking, closed days and how to get there.
In short
- Admission to the Hiroshima Children’s Museum is free, but its planetarium costs extra. The Peace Memorial Museum costs ¥200 for adults.
- Miyajima Aquarium closes from 1 December 2026 to 31 March 2027. The Hiroshima Children’s Museum closes from 1 April 2027 for several years.
- The Peace Memorial Museum, the Children’s Museum and Miyajima Aquarium have no car parks for ordinary visitors.
- The Peace Memorial Museum needs a web reservation for 7:30–8:30 and for the last hour of the day. It recommends one at other times too.
Checked with official pages on 5 October 2026.
1. Which one fits your day?
Depends on the place
Miyajima Aquarium is closed from 1 December 2026 to 31 March 2027, and the Hiroshima Children’s Museum closes from 1 April 2027. Click a name to jump to its section. Prices are for one adult paying the individual price.
| Place | Adult entry | Parking | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peace Memorial Museum | ¥200 | None for cars | 30–31 Dec, mid-Feb |
| Yamato Museum | ¥1,000 | Own car park, limited | Tuesdays |
| Ebayama Meteorology Museum | ¥100 | About 25, shared | Mondays |
| Numaji Transport Museum | ¥510 | 78, free | Mondays |
| Hiroshima Children’s Museum | Free (planetarium ¥510) | None | Mondays |
| Miyajima Aquarium | ¥1,420 | 2 accessible spaces | 1 Dec 2026–31 Mar 2027 |
| Shin Mariho Aquarium | ¥1,200–¥1,400 | Alpark car park | Usually 3rd Thursday |
| Prefectural Museum of History | ¥320 | City car park, 1 hour free | Mondays |
“Mondays” has exceptions: the Numaji Transport Museum is open when Monday is a public holiday, and several places close the day after a holiday instead. Details are in each section.
2. Getting there, parking and closed days
Depends on the place
In central Hiroshima, plan on trams, buses and walking. The Peace Memorial Park and the Peace Memorial Museum have no car park for ordinary private cars (vehicles carrying people with disabilities are an exception); the museum tells drivers to use paid car parks near the park. The Hiroshima Children’s Museum also has no car park, and Miyajima Aquarium, on an island, has only 2 accessible spaces.
On a rainy Monday, look at the Peace Memorial Museum, the Yamato Museum, Miyajima Aquarium or Shin Mariho Aquarium. None of them has Monday as its regular closed day. The Yamato Museum closes on Tuesdays, Shin Mariho Aquarium usually on the third Thursday, and the Peace Memorial Museum only on 30–31 December and in mid-February. Miyajima Aquarium is closed for repairs from 1 December 2026 to 31 March 2027. The Ebayama Meteorology Museum, the Numaji Transport Museum, the Children’s Museum and the Prefectural Museum of History close on Mondays, and the Ebayama museum, the Numaji museum and the Children’s Museum are open when Monday is a public holiday.
The Yamato Museum is not in Hiroshima City. It is in Kure, reached by the Clare Line express bus from near the Peace Memorial Park, by the airport bus from Hiroshima Airport, or by ferry.
2.1 Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum (広島平和記念資料館), Naka Ward
The museum uses A-bomb relics, belongings of the victims and testimony to tell the world about the horror and inhumanity of nuclear weapons, according to its official site. The permanent exhibition costs ¥200 for adults (university students and over) and ¥100 for high school students. Junior high school students and younger enter free. The official site has English and other language versions.
Opening hours depend on the season: 7:30–19:00 from March to July and from September to November, 7:30–20:00 in August, and 7:30–18:00 from December to February. The last entry is 30 minutes before closing. The museum is closed on 30 and 31 December and in mid-February; in 2027, it is closed from Monday 15 February to Saturday 20 February while exhibits are changed.
A web reservation is needed to enter the permanent exhibition from 7:30 to 8:30, and in the last hour or so before closing. Those evening times are 17:30–18:30 (March to July and September to November), 16:30–17:30 (December to February) and 18:30–19:30 (August). The ticket office and ticket machines work from 8:30 to 17:30 (March to July, September to November). At other times, buying a ticket on the day can take a while, so the museum recommends a web reservation. Even with a web ticket, you may have to wait or may not enter at the time on it when it is crowded. The museum also offers an official guide to a visit of about 30 minutes.
Getting there: From JR Hiroshima Station, the Hiroshima Bus line 24 takes about 20 minutes to “Heiwa Kinen Koen” (the stop is right by the park). The sightseeing loop bus “Meipuru-pu” takes about 17 minutes. By tram, it takes about 25 minutes to Fukuromachi or Genbaku-Dome-mae (原爆ドーム前), then a walk of about 10 minutes. From Hiroshima Bus Center, it is about 10 minutes on foot.
Address: 1-2 Nakajima-cho, Naka-ku, Hiroshima City · Open in Google Maps
Phone: 082-241-4004 (general information)
Official hours and prices page (Japanese; other languages from its language menu)
2.2 Yamato Museum (大和ミュージアム), Kure City
The permanent exhibition costs ¥1,000 for adults (university students and over), ¥300 for high school students and ¥200 for elementary and junior high school students. People who live in Kure City pay less: ¥500 for adults, and high school and younger students who live or study in Kure enter free. Kure residents show proof of address, such as a My Number card or a driver’s licence, when they buy the ticket. Children not yet in school are free.
The exhibition rooms are open 9:00–18:00 (entry until 17:30). The museum is closed on Tuesdays (the next day if Tuesday is a public holiday), but it is open every day from 29 April to 5 May, from 21 July to 31 August and from 29 December to 3 January. You can buy tickets at the museum, and e-tickets are on sale. The museum’s official site has an English version.
In the central Yamato Square (大和ひろば), a 1:10 scale model of the battleship Yamato stands in front of windows that look out on shipbuilding facilities and ships passing by. The first floor covers the history of Kure and the battleship Yamato. The third-floor Science and Technology room has real engines, hands-on devices and a panorama of Kure Port.
The museum’s own car park has limited spaces, and it asks visitors to use trains and buses. On the day of your visit, you can park free for up to one hour at a Kure city car park (Kure-eki Nishi, Kuramoto or Hondori) with your admission ticket. From JR Kure Station, it is about 8 minutes by taxi.
Address: 5-20 Takaramachi, Kure City, Hiroshima Prefecture · Open in Google Maps
Phone: 0823-25-3017
Official hours and prices page (Japanese)
2.3 Hiroshima City Ebayama Museum of Meteorology (広島市江波山気象館), Naka Ward
Adults pay ¥100. High school students and seniors (65 or over, with proof such as a driver’s licence) pay ¥50. Junior high school students and younger enter free. Entry is free for everyone on 3 November (Culture Day) and on the Sunday nearest to Meteorological Day (1 June). High school students enter free on Saturdays, except on public holidays and during long school breaks.
The museum is open 9:00–17:00 (last entry 16:30). It is closed on Mondays (unless Monday is a public holiday), the day after a public holiday, and over the New Year; the daily calendar on the official site has the exact days.
The second floor has hands-on corners: you can feel winds of 5, 15 and 20 metres per second, step into a “Typhoon Box”, watch a 300,000-volt lightning demonstration and try a screen that simulates heavy rain and storms. The first floor has a video corner, with a short film of about 6 minutes called “Mizu no Tabi” (水のたび, “Water journey”). The main building, built in 1934 as the old Hiroshima Local Meteorological Observatory, is a building that survived the atomic bombing. The museum keeps window frames bent by the blast.
Getting there: From Eba (江波) tram stop on tram line 6 (Hiroshima Station–Eba) or line 8 (Yokogawa Station–Eba), it is about 1 km. City bus line 6 stops at Eba-sakaemachi (江波栄町), about 500 m away. A taxi from the front of Hiroshima Station takes about 20 minutes. The car park holds about 25 cars inside Ebayama Park, is shared with park users and cannot be reserved. During special exhibitions and events the area is very crowded, so the museum asks visitors to use public transport. A car navigation system may send you down a footpath in the park.
Address: 1-40-1 Ebaminami, Naka-ku, Hiroshima City · Open in Google Maps
Phone: 082-231-0177
Official visit page (Japanese)
2.4 Numaji Transport Museum (ヌマジ交通ミュージアム), Asaminami Ward
The official name is Hiroshima City Transportation Museum (広島市交通科学館), and “Numaji” is the name under its naming-rights deal. The first floor and the outdoor plaza are free. The exhibition rooms on the second to fourth floors cost ¥510 for adults and ¥250 for high school students and seniors (65 or over). Children from preschool through junior high school enter free. Adults and high school students also enter free on 3 November (Culture Day).
There are more than 2,000 models of aircraft, ships, trains and cars, a giant panorama 20 metres across, and real exhibits such as Hiroden car No. 654, a tram that survived the atomic bombing. Outdoors, the “fun bicycles” (¥100 for one person for 30 minutes) and battery carts (¥100) may stop for rain, heat or road conditions.
The museum is open 9:00–17:00. Entry to the exhibition rooms and tickets for the fun bicycles end at 16:30. It is closed on Mondays (open if Monday is a public holiday), the weekday after a public holiday, and 29 December to 3 January, among other days. The car park has 78 spaces, is free and has no height limit. If you bring a “certificate of use” from inside the ticket gates at Chorakuji Station on the Astram Line, or a ticket for Hiroshima City Asa Zoological Park, adults pay ¥410 and high school students and seniors pay ¥200. The official site has an English page.
Address: 2-12-2 Chorakuji, Asaminami-ku, Hiroshima City · Open in Google Maps
Phone: 082-878-6211
Official visit page (Japanese; English page available)
2.5 Hiroshima Children’s Museum 5-Days (5-Daysこども文化科学館), Naka Ward
Admission is free. The planetarium costs money for adults and high school students, and everyone needs a planetarium ticket, even people who pay nothing. A regular show is ¥510 for adults and ¥250 for high school students and people aged 65 or over; preschool and school children up to junior high enter free. High school students are free on Saturdays and adults pay ¥250 on the second Saturday of each month (not on public holidays or during spring, summer and winter school breaks). 3 November (Culture Day) is a free day.
The museum is open 9:00–17:00 and closed on Mondays (unless Monday is a public holiday) and the weekday after a public holiday. It also has temporary closures, so check the calendar. For the planetarium, buy a ticket on the first floor and go to the fourth floor. Entry starts 10 minutes before the show, and nobody can enter after the show begins. Ticket issue ends 5 minutes before each show. Once you are inside, you cannot go out until the end.
The museum closes from 1 April 2027 until its reopening, planned within fiscal 2029 (Reiwa 11, April 2029 to March 2030), for earthquake-resistance work on the building and a renewal of the exhibits.
Getting there: About 300 m from Genbaku-Dome-mae (原爆ドーム前) tram stop, about 20 minutes by tram from JR Hiroshima Station. There is no car park; use a paid one nearby. The bus stops at Hiroshima Bus Center, Hiroshima Gate Park, the Atomic Bomb Dome and around Kamiyacho are also close.
Address: 5-83 Motomachi, Naka-ku, Hiroshima City · Open in Google Maps
Phone: 082-222-5346
Official visit page (Japanese)
2.6 Miyajima Aquarium (宮島水族館 みやじマリン), Hatsukaichi City
Adults (high school age and over) pay ¥1,420, elementary and junior high school students pay ¥710 and children from age 4 to the start of school pay ¥400. Children under 4 enter free. The aquarium is closed from 1 December 2026 to 31 March 2027 for repairs. It is open 9:00–17:00, and the last entry is 16:00.
The ticket counter does not take credit cards or e-money. The museum shop takes Visa, Mastercard and transport IC cards. Admission vouchers can also be bought at convenience-store terminals; Lawson and FamilyMart sell them until 26 November and 7-Eleven until 29 November 2026. The aquarium estimates about 1 hour 30 minutes for the regular exhibits, or about 2 hours with events and the shop.
In the rain, you can use the covered seats at the sea lion live pool, except during the live show. You can eat a packed lunch there or on the rooftop plaza. The second floor has a food and drink corner called Miyajima Marine Kitchen (みやじマリンキッチン), open 9:00–16:30 (last order 16:00 for food, 16:15 for drinks).
Getting there: Take the ferry from Miyajimaguchi Pier to Miyajima Pier, then walk. The aquarium is about 5 minutes on foot from the exit of Itsukushima Shrine. The aquarium has only 2 accessible parking spaces, so drivers use a car park at Miyajimaguchi (the aquarium’s access page links to the city car park).
Address: 10-3 Miyajima-cho, Hatsukaichi City, Hiroshima Prefecture · Open in Google Maps
Phone: 0829-44-2010
Official hours and prices page (Japanese)
2.7 Shin Mariho Aquarium (シン・マリホ水族館), Nishi Ward
The aquarium is on the third floor of the East Building of Alpark, a shopping mall. On weekdays, adults (16 and over) pay ¥1,200, children aged 7 to 15 pay ¥700 and children aged 3 to 6 pay ¥400. On weekends, public holidays and special days, the prices are ¥1,400, ¥800 and ¥500. Children aged 2 and under enter free. There are no discounts. Your age group is set by your age on the day you buy the ticket. A same-day ticket does not allow re-entry, and tickets cannot be refunded.
The aquarium is usually closed on the third Thursday of the month, but some busy months have no closed day, and its opening hours change by day. Check the official calendar. It says to allow 30 minutes to an hour, and you do not need to reserve. The ticket window accepts cash, credit cards, e-money and QR-code payments. The aquarium has no nursing room; the nearest is at Green Side on the third floor of Alpark’s East Building.
Getting there: About 3 minutes on foot from Araiguchi Station on the JR Sanyo Line, or from Shokokenta-iriguchi Station on the Hiroden Miyajima Line. From Hiroshima Station, the Hiroden tram toward Miyajimaguchi takes about 47 minutes. At the East, South and West Buildings, the first 4 hours of parking are free, then ¥200 per 30 minutes. For the East Building car park (floors 5–8), enter through the South Building car park entrance.
Address: 2-26-1 Kusatsu-shinmachi, Nishi-ku, Hiroshima City (Alpark East Building 3F) · Open in Google Maps
Phone: 082-278-1616
Official ticket page (Japanese)
2.8 Hiroshima Prefectural Museum of History (広島県立歴史博物館), Fukuyama City
Its other name is Fukuyama Kusado Sengen Museum (ふくやま草戸千軒ミュージアム). The permanent exhibition costs ¥320 for people under 65 and ¥230 for university students. People aged 65 or over, children not yet in school and international students at universities in the prefecture enter free. Prices for elementary, junior high and high school students, and for special exhibitions, are set separately.
The permanent exhibition has a general history room on the history of the Seto Inland Sea region, with a mini exhibition that changes about every two months. It also has a room with a full-size reconstruction of part of Kusado Sengen, a medieval port town. You can try on medieval costumes.
The museum is open 9:00–17:00 (last entry 16:30). It is closed on Mondays (the next weekday when Monday is a public holiday) and from 28 December to 4 January. You can borrow strollers and wheelchairs at the desk. Free Wi-Fi is available in two of the second-floor rooms, where a free app called “Pocket Curator” gives explanations and audio guides.
Getting there: 400 m west of the Castle Exit (north exit) of JR Fukuyama Station. A municipal car park is north of the museum, with limited spaces. With a museum ticket, you park free for up to one hour; bring your parking ticket to the desk. Other car parks nearby do not qualify for the free hour.
Address: 2-4-1 Nishimachi, Fukuyama City, Hiroshima Prefecture · Open in Google Maps
Phone: 084-931-2513
Official visit page (Japanese)
3. Which one for which kind of rainy day?
Depends on the place
- Weather and storms. The Ebayama Meteorology Museum, for ¥100.
- Vehicles and hands-on fun. The Numaji Transport Museum, with a free car park.
- Sea life. Miyajima Aquarium (until 30 November 2026) or Shin Mariho Aquarium (30 minutes to 1 hour).
- History. The Peace Memorial Museum, the Yamato Museum in Kure or the Prefectural Museum of History in Fukuyama.
- A half-day with stars. The planetarium at the Hiroshima Children’s Museum, which closes from 1 April 2027.
4. Common questions
Which places are open on a Monday?
The Peace Memorial Museum, the Yamato Museum and Shin Mariho Aquarium do not close on Mondays as a rule. Miyajima Aquarium is open until 30 November 2026. The Ebayama Meteorology Museum, the Numaji Transport Museum, the Children’s Museum and the Prefectural Museum of History close on Mondays, but the first three of these are open when Monday is a public holiday.
Do I need to book?
The Peace Memorial Museum requires a web reservation for 7:30–8:30 and the last hour or so of the day. Shin Mariho Aquarium says no reservation is needed. At the Children’s Museum, you collect a planetarium ticket on the first floor; the museum says everyone needs one, even if it is free.
Where are children free?
Junior high school students and younger enter the Peace Memorial Museum and the Ebayama Meteorology Museum free. Children from preschool to junior high are free at the Numaji Transport Museum and the Children’s Museum. Children who live or study in Kure are free at the Yamato Museum, and preschoolers are free at the Prefectural Museum of History.
Sources (checked October 2026)
- Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum: exhibition, hours and prices, access and notices
- Yamato Museum: hours and prices, access and home page
- Ebayama Museum of Meteorology: visit information and exhibits
- Numaji Transport Museum: visit information, about and access
- Hiroshima Children’s Museum: visit information, access, planetarium notes and closure notice
- Miyajima Aquarium: hours and prices, FAQ, access and closure notice
- Shin Mariho Aquarium: tickets, FAQ and Alpark access
- Hiroshima Prefectural Museum of History: visit information, permanent exhibition and costume experience
