Hiroshima Station is located in Matsubarachō, Minami-ku, Hiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture, and is an important station of JR West. Serving as the gateway to Hiroshima City—the largest city in the Chugoku and Shikoku regions—it is a stop for all Sanyō Shinkansen trains and the central hub of the “Hiroshima Urban Network” for conventional lines. It has the highest passenger usage in the Chugoku and Shikoku regions, and in terms of operating revenue, ranks second among all JR West stations, following only Shin-Osaka Station.
For conventional lines, no long-distance limited express trains depart from this station; it primarily handles commuting and school transport within the Hiroshima metropolitan area. Since it is located a short distance from the city center’s Kamiyachō and Hatchōbori districts, passengers typically take streetcars or buses to reach the downtown area. In recent years, redevelopment projects on both the north and south sides of the station have been progressing. In 2009, the Mazda Zoom-Zoom Stadium Hiroshima, home to the Hiroshima Toyo Carp baseball team, was opened within walking distance, adding new urban functions to the station area.
Inside the station, the ekie shopping complex stretches along the north-south free passage. The former south exit station building, “ASSE,” closed in 2020, and on the same site, the new complex “minamoa” was completed in March 2025, featuring a cinema and a hotel. In August of the same year, the Hiroshima Electric Railway’s Hiroshima Station stop was relocated to the second floor of “minamoa” to coincide with the opening of the “Station Front Ōhashi Line.”
Hiroshima Station serves not only as a key JR hub but also as a tightly connected interchange with the nearby Hiroshima Electric Railway stop, forming a major regional transport core that links railways, streetcars, and buses.
