Cash, cards, lockers
and what actually needs yen.
Hiroshima takes cards almost everywhere that matters and cash in exactly the places you will be caught out. The ¥1,000 Toro Nagashi lantern is cash only. Small okonomiyaki counters are cash. Coin lockers are coins. Everything else — the ¥200 museum, the ¥300 shrine, the hotels — is fine on plastic.
Carry about ¥10,000 (roughly $63) in cash per person per day and put everything else on a card. The things that will refuse plastic are the ¥1,000 Toro Nagashi lantern on 6 August, small standalone okonomiyaki counters, coin lockers, and some shrine and temple desks. Your existing IC card — Suica, ICOCA, PASMO — works on the flat-fare ¥240 Hiroden trams; PASPY was retired in spring 2025, so do not go looking for a local card. An eSIM bought before you land is the simplest data answer.
What takes plastic in Hiroshima, and what does not
Cash or cardOrdered by how likely you are to be caught out. The bottom half is where the ¥10,000 in your pocket earns its keep.
| Thing | Price | Cash or card? | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toro Nagashi lantern, 6 August | ¥1,000 | Cash only | The single most likely cash failure of your trip. Reception tents run 07:00–20:30 and lanterns can sell out |
| Small okonomiyaki counters | Varies — prices unverified | Often cash | The standalone counters locals use are more likely to be cash than the big buildings. Bring notes to a proper counter |
| Coin lockers | No official source publishes prices | Coins, or an IC card on newer banks | Keep ¥100 coins. Any site quoting exact Hiroshima locker prices is guessing — see below |
| Tours Hiroshima luggage desk | ¥500 per item, any size | Cards, e-money and QR | Hiroshima Station, 8:30–18:00. City delivery ¥1,000. The answer when the lockers are full |
| Crosta Hiroshima luggage desk | ¥800 per item · ¥1,000 oversize | Staffed counter | Hiroshima Station, 9:00–20:00. Hotel delivery ¥1,500 to 65 properties, same-day if you drop by 14:00 |
| Shrine and temple desks | ¥100–¥500 | Often cash | Hokoku Shrine is ¥100, Itsukushima ¥300 or ¥500 with the Treasure Hall. Have small notes |
| Hiroden streetcar | ¥240 flat | IC card or cash | Suica, ICOCA and PASMO all work. PASPY retired spring 2025, replaced by QR-based MOBIRY DAYS |
| Miyajima ferry and the ¥100 tax | ¥200 each way + ¥100 tax | Ticket window — carry cash | The tax is collected with the ticket and no rail pass covers it. ¥500 buys an annual pass if you are crossing repeatedly |
| Peace Memorial Museum | ¥200 · audio guide ¥500 | Card fine | Pre-booked slots are paid online in advance anyway — Klook for overseas visitors, Asoview domestically |
| Hotels | ~¥3,800–¥44,000 a night | Card fine | No lodging tax in Hiroshima city. Indicative bands here |
| Miyajima Ropeway | ¥2,000 return · ¥1,100 one way | Card generally fine | Last descent 16:30. Missing it costs you 75+ minutes on foot, not money |
The honest negative on lockers, which nobody else will publish: no official source anywhere gives coin-locker sizes or prices in Hiroshima — not JR West, not either ferry operator, not the Miyajima Tourist Association, not the city. Any page quoting exact Hiroshima locker prices is guessing. Lockers do exist at Hiroshima Station, Miyajimaguchi and the Miyajima terminal, and they fill early on peak days. Use the two staffed desks in the row above instead. Dollar prices convert at ¥157.7 = $1, the rate on 4 August 2026. Treat every $ figure as a snapshot and the ¥ figure as the real price.
Lockers, forwarding, and the Miyajima problem
LuggageThe luggage question in Hiroshima is really a Miyajima question: you do not want a suitcase on a ferry, up a ropeway, or among deer that have learned to eat paper.
Do not build your day around finding a locker on Miyajima. Coin lockers exist at Hiroshima Station, at Miyajimaguchi and at the Miyajima terminal, and they fill early on peak days — and no official source publishes their sizes or prices. Not JR West, not either ferry operator, not the Miyajima Tourist Association, not the city. Any page that quotes you a figure has made it up. Leave the big bag at Hiroshima Station and cross with a day bag.
The reliable answer is one of the two staffed desks at Hiroshima Station, and both are verified. Tours Hiroshima charges ¥500 per item, any size, 8:30–18:00, takes cards, e-money and QR, and will deliver within the city for ¥1,000. Crosta Hiroshima charges ¥800 per item or ¥1,000 oversize, 9:00–20:00, and delivers to 65 hotels for ¥1,500, same day if you drop the bag by 14:00. At ¥500 a bag with no size limit, Tours Hiroshima is the better deal and the shorter opening hours are the trade.
One more Miyajimaguchi warning: there is no Midori-no-Madoguchi ticket office there, only a machine, available 05:00–23:00 with a live operator between 08:00 and 20:00. If you need a rail-pass exchange or a complicated reservation, do it at Hiroshima Station before you go.
There are also lockers inside the Peace Memorial Museum, on the first floor of the East Building, and you will need them — large bags are not allowed into the exhibition. That is a rule worth knowing before you arrive with a day pack and a camera bag.
Luggage forwarding — takkyubin — is the Japanese answer to all of this and it is the thing most visitors underuse. Hotels will normally send a bag on to your next hotel, typically arriving the following day, so you can do a Miyajima overnight with a small bag and let the suitcase go ahead. Ask at your hotel's front desk the day before; prices vary by size and route and we have not verified a current rate card.
One island-specific reason to travel light: Miyajima's deer have eaten paper since feeding was banned in 2008 — maps, tickets and guidebooks included. A loose ferry ticket in an outside pocket is a real loss, and the ¥100 visitor tax ticket is a separate slip of paper you have to keep hold of.
eSIM, wifi and getting online
ConnectivityBuy an eSIM before you fly if your phone supports one. It is the least friction available: no pocket wifi to collect at an airport counter, no deposit, no device to return, and it works from the moment you land — which matters more here than in most Japanese cities because Hiroshima Airport is about 50km from town and you may want a map on the bus.
Free wifi exists at Hiroshima Station, in the covered Hondori arcades, in most hotels and at the tourist information desks, and it is adequate rather than good. Coverage inside the Peace Memorial Museum is not something to rely on when you want to look something up mid-exhibition.
One genuinely useful thing to have data for: the museum runs live congestion cameras on its own site. In FY2025 it recorded 2,580,926 admissions — a third consecutive record, of which 945,618, or 36.6%, were foreign visitors — and entry has at times been temporarily suspended for safety. Checking the camera before you walk over is a better use of five seconds than anything else on your phone that day.
And a warning that is worth more than any of the above: JESTA is not live. Japan's planned electronic travel authorisation will not be in operation before FY2028. There is nothing to apply for, no portal and no fee. Any website selling you a "JESTA" is a scam — close the tab. The same goes for anything charging you to "pre-register" for entry to Japan in 2026.
The practical bit
Plan your visitHiroshima practicalities — the questions people ask
FAQPage schema pairedDo I need cash in Hiroshima?
Yes, about ¥10,000 a day per person, so roughly ¥20,000 each for a two-night trip. Cards cover hotels, the ¥200 museum, the ¥2,000 ropeway and most restaurants, but the ¥1,000 Toro Nagashi lantern is cash only, small okonomiyaki counters often are, coin lockers want ¥100 coins, and shrine desks charging ¥100 to ¥500 usually do too. Draw at a convenience store ATM, and keep ¥200 per person per night back for the lodging tax you pay at the desk.
Can I use Suica or ICOCA in Hiroshima?
Yes — and contrary to what most guides say, they were never discontinued. PASPY ended on 29 March 2025 but the national cards carried on through simplified readers, WAON was added on 1 July 2026 and PiTaPa was dropped. Note you cannot top up on board, so charge at a JR machine or convenience store, and there is no IC discount — ¥240 against ¥220 for a local MOBIRY DAYS user.
Are there coin lockers at Hiroshima Station?
Yes, and at Miyajimaguchi and the Miyajima terminal — but no official source publishes their sizes or prices anywhere in Hiroshima, so any page quoting you a figure is guessing. They also fill early on peak days. Use a staffed desk instead: Tours Hiroshima is ¥500 per item at any size, 8:30–18:00, and Crosta Hiroshima is ¥800, 9:00–20:00.
Where can I leave luggage in Hiroshima?
Two staffed desks at Hiroshima Station. Tours Hiroshima charges ¥500 per item with no size limit, 8:30–18:00, takes cards and QR, and delivers within the city for ¥1,000. Crosta Hiroshima charges ¥800, or ¥1,000 oversize, 9:00–20:00, and delivers to 65 hotels for ¥1,500 — same day if you drop the bag by 14:00.
Can I take luggage to Miyajima?
Do not try. Leave the big bag at Hiroshima Station for ¥500 and cross with a day bag — island lockers fill early and nobody publishes what they hold. Miyajima's deer have eaten paper since feeding was banned in 2008, so keep your ¥200 ferry ticket and ¥100 tax slip inside a bag, and note the ropeway's 16:30 last descent is not a queue to join with a suitcase.
Do I need an eSIM for Japan?
It is the simplest option, and buy it before you fly. There is no counter to find, no deposit and no device to return, which matters here because Hiroshima Airport is about 50km from the city and you may want a map on the hour-long bus in. Free wifi at Hiroshima Station and in the Hondori arcades is a fallback rather than a plan.
Where is the tourist information centre in Hiroshima?
There is one at Hiroshima Station and one in the Rest House inside the Peace Memorial Park — the 1929 building whose basement survived the bombing. The Rest House also has the only public toilets in the north half of the park, which is a 15-minute walk from the museum end.
Do I need a JESTA to enter Japan?
No. JESTA is not live and will not be before FY2028 — there is nothing to apply for, no portal and no fee. Any website charging you for a "JESTA" or a paid pre-registration for Japan in 2026 is a scam. The only genuine charges at the border are the national ¥1,000 tourist tax and the ¥3,000 departure tax.