Japan Trips & Travel Tips

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/penpen35 on 2025-10-19 12:12:05+00:00.

Just came back yesterday from my 9 days' solo trip to the Setouchi area. The itinerary was shared here, though that was mostly a general list of things to do each day, I'll go into a bit more detail here where applicable.

General stuff:

• All the traveling was public transport and walking (lots of walking). I have not biked on the Shimanami Kaido (I haven't biked in many years and I am a solo traveler), though I did use the bus as a filthy casual.
• Most of the pre-planning were done on Google maps. It was mostly accurate, though as I found out, sometimes you take more/less time than planned, and Google maps is there to help out again, though the times might be slightly off if you're a bit farther from the city. Super useful.
• I bought the JR Setouchi area pass. For my case where I went to Matsuyama and back, the value of this pass is immense.
• I've gradually used the bus more than the tram in cities. The bus has a broader network usually, and their speed is faster than trams.
• IC cards are useful in the area, especially since it's mostly serviced by JR West.
• My plan was to go after the China National days, so it's not as populated in some areas, so your mileage may vary. Hiroshima is definitely a popular spot for non-Asian tourists, though. Additionally, it seems like fall is only starting, as the trees are still basically all green.
• My mealtimes are slightly off to try to avoid crowds a little. Mostly my lunch would be at 12pm, and dinner at 5pm especially if I expect a crowd. Also, most places would close at 8pm, so take note of that.

Day 1 (Hiroshima half-day):

• Arrived at Hiroshima airport. It is a rather small airport and the only way to get out of there (unless you rent a car) is by the limo bus. The bus goes to most major cities around the area. Obviously I took mine to Hiroshima station to first get my JR pass exchanged. The bus will take 1 hour, and if you come in by international flight, you need to get to the domestic arrivals area for the bus tickets, though I believe you can also use the IC cards.
• I also had lunch in the airport, Oyster Farm Hiroshima felt like a good choice then, though I somehow only ordered a plan rice curry with nothing else (it does come with a small salad though).
• I stayed in Dormy Inn at the center of the city. This one is a little old, and my room view is the next building's terrace, but again Dormy Inn slaps (see day 6 in link). Also mostly convenient as well to other areas. Furthermore, this one offers a free shuttle directly to Hiroshima station, though you need to reserve first (but I didn't use).
• Checked out Hondori at night and it was a pretty nice shopping area. The highlight was the B-side Label shop which had a lot of cool and fun stickers.
• Dinner was at Kunimatsu Ramen. Mixed dandan noodles is a specialty in Hiroshima, and this one's rated highly. It was great.

Day 2 (Hiroshima):

• Hiroshima castle & park. The castle itself is basically rebuilt into a museum, though it does offer a decent view of the area on the top floor. There is a also a major shrine nearby.
• If you have a JR pass with you, you can take the loop bus outside the castle's east exit, and show to the driver to ride for free.
• Lunch was at Okonomiyaki Mitchan Sohonten Orizuru tower as I had to try out okonomiyaki after all. This one is near the atomic dome and technically it was a convenient place, though it was disappointing. The wait was rather long even if I arrived early, and I got a counter seat facing the street. The okonomiyaki wasn't very good, either (I liked the coke more than that). Better choices might be found by moving a block down to Hondori for food.
• I checked out Orizuru tower right on top of the restaurant. The top floor was really cool, especially with its location next to the atomic bomb dome. You can also pay an extra 100 yen to fold an origami crane and drop it down a chute to help form the crane wall art outside. And there's some exhibits about the history of the area pre and post bomb. However, I do feel 2000 yen admission fee is quite steep. There's also a slide to go down but nobody used it, and if you decide to walk down halfway and want to use the elevator, there's no way and you're forced to walk down to ground level.
• The atomic bomb dome is historic and a sight to behold. There's something amazingly dire about seeing a ruined building. Nothing more need to be said, as it's a must-go.
• The peace park is also a nice place to visit right after. I maybe spent an hour in the park, and if I really wanted to, maybe take at least an hour more. The monuments and free exhibits are great.
• Unfortunately a not so great experience in the Peace Memorial Museum. It's just so packed with people in the middle area (basically the bridge you see outside) that they should've instead do crowd control. Some of the exhibits are so crowded that you can't even get near. And there's parents taking kids in there who has no idea what's up and wants to leave or run amok, and a tourist guide stopping the flow of crowd so he can explain to his group and block others...it was just poor. The latter exhibits once the crowd starts to disperse is better. I know it's a must-go for tourists, but if you're able to, I highly recommend going to the one in Nagasaki instead.
• Heading back to the Hondori area, I checked out Animate and the Sunmall nearby.
• Dinner was at Reimenya. Another special dish in Hiroshima, this is a cold ramen with a spicy dipping sauce. As a disclaimer, there's basically only one dish to choose from, and you can ask for more/less spicy and pay for how much noodles you'd want (and also pay for extra meat). Very little people at dinnertime, though.

Day 3 (Matsuyama):

• This is where the JR Setouchi pass comes into play. You need to head to the ferry port first (via tram or bus - I did bus). Right when you get off, go to the main building and on the left side you can find the ferry ticket counter to Matsuyama. Show them your JR pass (might need to also show your passport - I needed to on the way back) and get the ticket to either the super jet, or the cruise ferry. The value comes from the super jet, which is 8800 yen for one way, and if you do a round trip, that's almost 80% of the pass' value. You can find the super jet's schedule here, though note it will change in November. It takes one hour for the super jet, and 3 if you take the ferry which is more luxurious.
• After you get off the Matsuyama sightseeing port, there is only one way to get to Matsuyama (unless you use a taxi). It's to take the shuttle bus to the train stop and ride into Matsuyama. There is NO direct limo bus from the port to the city anymore. Additionally, there were comments in Google map saying it didn't accept IC cards, it does now.
• Touristy protip on the train, sit on the right side, in the first car. You'll soon get to a station right next to the coast, and it's also a location used in Tokyo Love Story (a 90s J-drama).
• For me, I got off at Otemachi to get onto the tram to Dogo Onsen. In Dogo Onsen area, I had lunch and checked out this restaurant for the local food, the sea bream rice (though I wanted to try the steamed one, it takes 20 minutes according to the menu). It's not too populated, and you can order by QR code, so it's a great choice if you can't speak Japanese.
• I never planned to use the onsen in Dogo Onsen, though there really wasn't a line waiting outside pre-lunch, so I feel if I really wanted to, I could've taken it. The building is really nice, even.
• Going to Matsuyama castle, I had to take the bus (the one to Matsuyama airport but not the express one) and get off at this one and walk a bit to the ropeway. You can either take the cable car or the lift, but the lift seems more fun, so I took that.
• For Matsuyama castle, it is a hike. Even with the ropeway/lift up, you still need to walk up a considerable distance. I feel if you have some walking difficulties, it'll be very hard. Roads aren't paved, and inside the castle the stairs are pretty steep (also I didn't wear the slippers they provided and going up/down the stairs were not good to my feet). The castle itself is indeed impressive, and it's basically kept as-is, including the very steep stairs. But the views are great, and there's lots of cool historical stuff on display.
• Going downhill I actually walked the whole way down the south road to get to the nearest tram stop as planned. It's quite steep. In retrospect, I should've just rode the lift down and find a way to get to the city after.
• Unlike other cities, the local rail's main station is more like the city center instead of a JR station. So I went to Matsuyama city station and ate there for dinner, before taking the train back to Matsuyama sightseeing port.
• I took the second to last super jet back to Hiroshim...

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