Hiroshima · Kaminobori-choNo.1122★★Open in map →

Shukkeien Garden

natureOff the trail — and worth it

A lords' stroll garden a short walk from Hiroshima Station, built around a pond of islands and crossed by a steep stone arch bridge. It was levelled in the bombing and put back, pavilion by pavilion, over the decades that followed.

FromHiroshima Station
~15 minHiroden tram, Hakushima Line
Get off atShukkeien-mae tram stop (Hiroden Hakushima Line)
On foot
Shukkeien Garden

Directions ↗

The sweet spot

This is a well-known garden and it appears on most Hiroshima itineraries, so nothing about it is hidden. What gets skipped is the pairing. It stands close enough to the castle that both fit into one morning on foot, and the two tell the same story of destruction and rebuilding from opposite ends — one in stone and timber, the other in water and planting.

Where it is

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What to look for — in walking order

Kokokyo Bridge, Shukkeienそらみみ / CC BY-SA 4.0

Takuei Pondthe sheet of water at the centre, scattered with islands large and small
Kokokyo Bridgea stone arch that lifts steeply out of the pond and splits the view in two
Seifukana pavilion on the north-east shore, rebuilt after the original was destroyed
Meigetsuteia teahouse framing borrowed scenery of the Kanda River and Mount Futaba

How to actually get there

From the south exit of Hiroshima Station take Hiroden line 1, 2 or 6 and change at Hatchobori to the Hakushima Line.
Ride north to Shukkeien-mae and walk two minutes east past the prefectural art museum to the gate.
Follow the shore path around the pond and cross the stone arch bridge at the middle.
Leave by the same gate and walk west to the castle if you are doing both in one morning.

Hiroden tram via Hatchobori: Take Hiroden line 1, 2 or 6 from the stop in front of the south exit of Hiroshima Station, change at Hatchobori to the Hakushima Line, and ride north to Shukkeien-mae. Walking the whole way from the station instead takes roughly ten minutes.
Return from Shukkeien-mae: Take the Hakushima Line south to Hatchobori and change back to a Hiroshima Station service, or simply walk. The Hakushima Line is a short branch, so glance at the board before settling in to wait.

Directions from my location (Google Maps) ↗

About the place

Shukkeien sits behind the prefectural art museum, a few streets north-east of the castle and near enough to the station to walk. The name points at what the garden does: valleys, a wooded rise and a stretch of open water are compressed into a single circuit you can finish in one go. A pond fills the middle, dotted with islands and divided by a stone arch bridge. Paths run right around the shore and climb a low rise on the far side, so the same water reads differently depending on where you stand. Teahouses and pavilions sit at intervals along the way, most of them rebuilt rather than original.

How to enjoy it

The garden opens at 9:00 and closes at 18:00 in the warmer half of the year, 17:00 in the colder; the changeover date shifts, so check on the day. An unhurried circuit of the pond runs to well under an hour, which is exactly why it pairs with the castle in a single morning rather than eating a whole one.

Background & history

The garden was begun in 1620 for Asano Nagaakira, lord of Hiroshima, and laid out by his chief retainer Ueda Soko, who was known as a tea master. A Kyoto gardener, Shimizu Shichiroemon, reworked it in the 1780s into roughly the form it holds today, and it was designated a national Place of Scenic Beauty in 1940. On 6 August 1945 the buildings were destroyed and the planting burned. The garden reopened in 1951 while repairs were still under way, and the last of the pavilions was rebuilt in 1974.

Before you go

Cash: There is an admission charge at the gate, collected on the spot. Fee tiers differ by age and school status, so bring cash or an IC card rather than assuming a fixed amount.
Good to know: The garden shuts for a few days at the year end. The circuit is mostly gravel, stone and steps with little cover, so heavy rain and midsummer heat are both felt on the path.
Another way: From Hiroshima Castle it is a walk of well under a kilometre east on flat streets, with no transfer, which is the natural way to link the two.
After you get off: Shukkeien-mae sits about 200 m west of the entrance — a two-minute walk east, past the prefectural art museum, brings you to the gate.