Orizuru Tower

The rooftop view places the dome immediately below and the rest of the rebuilt city centre fanning out behind it — it’s the only public elevation that makes both the ruin and the recovery visible in the same frame. The interior spiral lets visitors fold an orizuru (paper crane) and drop it into a glass-walled column running the height of the building, which fills slowly over time.

The ground-floor shop is genuinely worth the detour even if you skip the deck: curated Setouchi lemon condiments and Lemosco, Kumano makeup brushes, well-edited books and stationery — a much better souvenir hit than the chain shops in Hondori. Open daily; rooftop closes earlier than the shop, and weather can shut it on short notice.

Entry to the 12th-floor observation deck costs ¥1,700 for adults (prices subject to revision) and can be used for repeated entry on the same calendar day. The journey up is via either elevator or a 450-meter-long spiraling walkway — taking the walkway is the point, as it doubles as the path to the paper-crane activity. The Orizuru Square on the 12th floor is where visitors fold their crane from purchased origami paper, then decide whether to keep it or drop it into the glass Orizuru Wall column that descends through the building’s core.

The tower sits directly adjacent to the Atomic Bomb Dome on the north side, making it the logical companion visit. Open daily; hours vary by season but generally 10:00-21:00 (last entry 30 minutes before). Access via Genbaku Dome-mae tram stop (lines 2 or 6 from Hiroshima Station). The open-air rooftop is unsuitable in rain or strong wind, and management will close it with little notice; check the forecast before paying admission solely for the view.

The building also contains a cafe, restaurant, and several floors of curated retail beyond the ground floor — the overall concept positions itself as a design-conscious destination rather than pure observation tower, with rotating art exhibitions in the stairwell gallery space. If you’ve already seen the dome from the riverside path and don’t need the elevated perspective, the shop alone justifies a 15-minute stop.