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Arrival and information
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Hiroshima Station, on the east side of the city, is where local
trains
and Shinkansen arrive. Long-distance
buses
also arrive beside Hiroshima Station, although some also terminate at Hiroshima Bus Centre on the third floor of Sogo department store in the city centre.
Ferries
from Imabari and Matsuyama in Shikoku and various other locations around the Inland Sea, arrive at Hiroshima Port, some 4km south of Hiroshima Station and connected to the city by regular trams (?150).
Two airports serve the city, the closest being Hiroshima Nishi airport , on the bay around 4km from the city centre. Hiroshima Nishi handles services to smaller regional airports, such as Niigata and Tottori; buses from the airport to the city centre leave every forty minutes or so, take thirty minutes and cost ?240; a taxi will set you back around ?3000. Flights from Tokyo Haneda airport and several other cities arrive at Hiroshima airport , some 40km east of the city; regular buses run from here to Hiroshima Station and the central bus centre, in around fifty minutes (?1300), or you can take a bus to nearby Shiraichi Station and transfer to a local train to the city. There are three small tourist information booths in Hiroshima Station; one in the concourse at the south ( minami ) entrance and one at the north ( kita ) Shinkansen entrance (both daily 9am-5.30pm) and one in the basement (daily 9am-7pm). They can provide maps, leaflets in a wide range of languages and assist with hotel bookings. Hiroshima's main tourist information centre is the Hiroshima City Tourist Association (daily: April-Sept 9.30am-6pm; Jan-March & Oct-Dec 8.30am-5pm; tel 082/247-6738, www.tourism.city.hiroshima.jp ) in the Hiroshima Rest House beside the Motoyasu bridge to the Peace Park. The Association has the best range of tourist literature, including information on other areas of Hiroshima-ken, and a small souvenir shop.
If you want to arrange a
home visit
, you'll need to apply in person at the International Conference Centre (daily: May-Nov 9am-7pm; Jan-April & Dec 10am-6pm; tel 082/247-9715) at the southwest end of the Peace Park, at least a day in advance. The centre also provides information on local events and has an excellent library and reading area with many international magazines and newspapers. Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
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Japan,
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