Getting There -- Hiroshima is almost 5 hours from Tokyo by Shinkansen bullet train, 2 hours from Kyoto, and 1 hour and 20 minutes from Hakata Station on Kyushu. The fare from Tokyo is ¥17,540 ($146) for an unreserved seat.

A bus departs from Tokyo Station every night at 8pm and reaches Hiroshima Station at 8am the next morning. The one-way fare is ¥12,060 ($101).

You can also reach Hiroshima by boat from Matsuyama on Shikoku, which takes 1 hour and 10 minutes by high-speed boats costing ¥5,800 ($48) or 2 hours and 40 minutes by ferries costing ¥2,500 ($21). From Beppu on Kyushu, the trip costs ¥8,500 ($71) and takes 3 hours and 20 minutes.

Visitor Information -- Before leaving Tokyo, Kyoto, or the Narita or Kansai airports, pick up a copy of the leaflet "Hiroshima and Miyajima" at the Tourist Information Center.

Upon arrival in Hiroshima, you'll find two local tourist offices at Hiroshima Station. The main office (tel. 082/263-6822), on the north side where Shinkansen bullet trains arrive, is open daily from 9am to 12:30pm and 1:30 to 5:30pm. The other tourist office (tel. 082/261-1877), in the underground passage on the station's south side, is open daily from 9 to 11:30am and 12:30 to 5:30pm. A third tourist office is located in the north end of Peace Memorial Park in the Rest House (tel. 082/247-6738; open daily 9:30am-6pm Apr-Sept, 8:30am-5pm Oct-Mar). All three facilities have brochures of both Hiroshima and Miyajima with maps in English. Be sure, too, to ask for the Seto Inland Sea Welcome Card, available free to visitors; it offers discounts on member hotels, restaurants, some attractions, and more. More information is available at the Hiroshima-Navi website, including dates for the Yukata Matsuri, a festival which transforms Hiroshima as everyone strolls the streets in yukata (cotton kimono).

Internet Access -- The International Exchange Lounge, in the International Conference Center (tel. 082/242-8879) just west of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, offers 30 minutes of free Internet connection, though you have to sign up and may have to wait. It also has an international library.

Orientation & Getting Around -- One legacy of Hiroshima's total destruction was its rebirth into one of Japan's most navigable cities, with wide, open boulevards instead of the usual cramped streets. Hiroshima's main attractions, including Peace Memorial Park, Hiroshima Castle, Shukkei-en Garden, Hiroshima Prefectural Art Museum, and Hiroshima Museum of Art, lie to the west and southwest of Hiroshima Station. The most convenient mode of transportation in the city is streetcar, which costs only ¥150 ($1.25) one-way; children pay half fare. If you need to transfer to another line, ask the driver for a transfer card, which you then pass through the card machine upon alighting from the first bus and again when boarding the second bus. When you arrive at your destination, return the card to the bus driver. A 1-day pass costs ¥600 ($5); note that it does not cover the ferry to Miyajima.

It's probably easiest to make the circuit to Hiroshima's centrally located attractions on foot. From Hiroshima Station you can walk to Shukkei-en Garden and the Prefectural Art Museum in about 12 minutes, from where it's another 7-minute walk to Hiroshima Castle. You can walk onward to Peace Memorial Park in about 15 minutes, passing the Hiroshima Museum of Art and the A-Bomb Dome on the way. Just east of Peace Park is the Hondori covered shopping arcade and its neighboring streets, considered the heart of the city with its many department stores, shops, and restaurants.