Hiroshima Castle

Hiroshima Castle was built by Mōri Terumoto, the grandson of Mōri Motonari, who is also known as one of Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s Council of Five Elders. The construction site, called "Gokamura," was chosen because it was a key point for inland-sea transportation and was politically, militarily, and economically advantageous, being located at the mouth of the Ōta River. Until then, it is said to have been a cold, rural village overgrown with reeds. Two years were spent building the castle, and waterways and roads were developed at the same time, forming a castle town. "Gokamura," once just an ordinary rural settlement, was reborn as "Hiroshima," the political and economic center of the Chūgoku region.
Today, the main keep is open as a history museum, and highlights include a gold-leaf shachihoko roof tile and a gold-leaf oni-ita roof tile excavated in near-complete form from related sites of Hiroshima Castle. A corner where visitors can dress in formal kimono (uchikake) or armor and take commemorative photos is also popular. Access to Hiroshima Castle: take a streetcar to "Kamiya-chō-higashi" or "Kamiya-chō-nishi" and walk about 15 minutes north. By bus, take the Hiroshima city loop bus to "Hiroshima-jō (Gokoku-jinja-mae)" and walk about 6 minutes, or take a local bus to "Gōdō Chōsha-mae" and walk about 8 minutes.