Futabanosato Historical Walking Trail
The mountains to the north of Hiroshima Station are dotted with 19 shrines and temples, some of which were founded hundreds of years before the city itself. The Futabanosato Walking Trail is an ideal way to explore these historic buildings and see another side of Hiroshima.
The trail connects to 16 different sites, from some of the oldest shrines and temples in the city to the Mt. Futaba Peace Pagoda, one of the many symbols of Hiroshima’s postwar reconstruction. Along the trail are cherry blossom and maple trees, as well as ginkgo, pine, and camphor trees that miraculously survived the atomic bombing. As the hills are located northeast of Hiroshima Castle—a direction traditionally considered inauspicious—successive rulers built temples there to ward off evil. Suburban sprawl has long since enveloped the Futabanosato area, however, and the smaller shrines may be found tucked into corners beside houses and shops.
Walking the entire 10-kilometer trail takes roughly half a day, but the segment of the route that begins at Hiroshima Station is an easy starting point. It includes a large number of shrines and temples—some still bearing scars from the bombing—and can be walked in a loop that leads back to the station in just over two hours. Of course, hikers can join the trail at any point and visit sites in any order they desire.
