What is the drive like from Tokyo to Hiroshima? Can't afford the Shinkansen.?

Question

Can you recommend an inexpensive place to stay?
What are the main sights in Hiroshima? Can you see the area in only 2 days?

Answer 1

take the train. it's an awful drive and expensive. you don't have to take the shinkansen although it's the fastest service. during the spring and summer holidays JR that's japan railways sell aticket called seishin juhachi kippu it's sold in blocks of 5 and you can travel anywhere on the JR system for 1 day with each ticket, not sure how much the tickets are this year but somewhere around 2000 yen per day. there are some trains you can't ride, super express and of course the shinkansen but it's a super value deal.
there are great places to see in Hiroshima and to really see anywhere you need more than 2 days but you can get a good idea of the place in that time.
don't forget to try the okonomiyaki, it's a famous meal in Hiroshima and it's GOOD

Answer 2

For a group of four people, a car is a better deal and value over the shinkansen. That includes fuel and highway fees. For a single person, the trains are a much more cheaper. Most of Hiroshima can be seen in a full day, 2 days would give you more time to reflect on the tragedy. For me, half a day was enough sadness to take in. Later in the day we took a walk to the Okonomiyaki village and had a very good dinner. You could catch a Hiroshima Carps baseball game during the baseball season. If the Carp play the Hanshin Tigers the place will be packed and a good crowd will be there.

Answer 3

The tolls and gas for a drive to Hiroshima would be WAY more than a shinkansen ticket. Check out flights, too. Sometimes airlines run specials that are cheaper than the shinkansen. Also check the discount ticket shops, usually 10-15% off on shinkansen tix. And don't forget the overnight buses.
If you're REALLY desperate, go during the seishun-18 kippu season, during school vacation times, you can buy a pack of 5 tickets for about 11,500 yen. Each ticket allow you to travel ANYWHERE you want to in 1 day, as long as you take local JR trains (I think the next chance is March) There is probably a slow sleeper train from Tokyo down to Hiroshima, you can't get a bunk with those tix, just a seat, and going overnight (both sides of midnight) will burn 2 tix. But it's still dirt cheap.

Hiroshima basic sights can be done in a day.
Of course, the A-Bomb Dome/Peace Museum 2-3hours if you take your time and take photos.
Nearby is the nice island of Miyajima, one of the "top 3" sightseeing spots in all Japan, famous for the "floating torii" (a huge orange tori gate and temple built on the beach so that at high tide, they appear to be floating on the water. At low tide you can walk right out to it. Also, there are very tame deer all over, they'll eat anything, and can be quite nosy. The island is a good relief from the depressing A-bomb Dome area. The side trip to Miyajima would take a half-day, if you take your time and hang out for a change in tides..
In the evening, be sure to try Hiroshima-yaki, the local (and my favorite) version of okonomiyaki.
Other options to stretch it to 2 days are taking in a baseball game, Hiroshima castle, eating more Hiroshima-yaki, speaking with the locals in broken English about how bad the A-Bomb was, going back to the Peace museum and taking the time to watch some of the videotaped testimonials of survivors.

Answer 4

you could take the jr bus from tokyo to hiroshima:
Tokyo Hiroshima 20:00 21:00 11:00～12:00 11,600 JR bus 03-3516-1950
still you are looking at 11600 yen, which is about 100 usd each way. looks like a quite long bus ride (takes 11-12 hours, and you leave from 8-9pm at night)
link:
http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/ttp/sg/07-Transportation/MediumINdex/06-Long-distance.html
looking at train rates it looks like it would be about the same price, and about 3 times faster.

If you are traveling and haven't left for Japan yet, you might consider a rail pass, the cheapest, 7 day one is more than buying a ticket each way however, so if thats the only long distance trip you are taking, its not going to be good enough of a deal, however if you were going to hit another few cities on the way during your trip, the rail pass would be a wise choice (rail passes start at 28,300 yen for a 7 day pass) as you could travel on any jr line train (except nozomi super express) bus, ferry, ect just by flashing your jr rail pass and passport.

Answer 5

It would cost you more just in tolls than the Shinkansen to drive from Tokyo to Hiroshima, let alone the gasoline.

Answer 6

The drive down to Hiroshima is really long. There are several youth hostels down there which are very reasonable. You could also stay in saunas which will probably be the cheapest.

Answer 7

If you are flying into Japan, inquire about a flight add-on. I got ticket from Haneda to Hiroshima at a good price since I was using JAL to arrive in Japan.