[2024 Edition] Introducing Hiroshima Prefecture's first sunrise and hatsumode spots!

What's left of this year is all over for now.
In the new year, along with seeing Hiroshima's beautiful first sunrise,
Why don't you pray for a happy new year at the nearby hatsumode spots?

The observatory, which was renovated in 2020, is spacious and offers a 360-degree view of Hiroshima City.
On the east side when the sun rises, you can see the first sunrise while looking at Kaita Bridge and Hiroshima Bridge.
Address: Koganeyama Park, Koganeyama-cho, Minami-ku, Hiroshima-shi, Hiroshima-ken
Opening hours/ 5:00 to 23:00 (entry prohibited from 23:00 to 5:00 the next day)
Usage fee/free
Access: Take a bus from JR Hiroshima Station and get off at “Asahigaoka Danchi Iriguchi”, then walk for 50 minutes
Parking: available (closed from 23:00 to 5:00)
Website/
https://www.city.hiroshima.lg.jp/site/minamiku/5086.html

Access from Mount Kogane/ Approx. 30 minutes by car
Parking lot/ available

Mount Misen on Miyajima is a sacred mountain at an altitude of 535 meters, and is also famous as a power spot associated with Kukai (Kobo Daishi). On New Year's Day, ferries also operate specially at night, and the Miyajima Ropeway starts operating at 5 a.m. Every year, it's a popular spot crowded with people who see the first sunrise over the Seto Inland Sea, so we recommend that you make sure you have plenty of time to spare.
*Ferry operations and ropeway business hours are subject to change due to weather etc. Be sure to check the website.
Address: Misen Observatory Rest Area, Miyajima-cho, Hatsukaichi-shi, Hiroshima-ken
Opening hours/ 24 hours (Miyajima Ropeway is specially open from 5 o'clock)
Usage fee/free
Access: Approximately 20 minutes on foot from Miyajima Ferry Terminal to the ropeway platform
Parking Lot/ None
Website/
Miyajima Tourism Association (one company)
https://www.miyajima.or.jp/index.php
Hatsutabi Hatsukaichi Tourism Official Site
https://www.city.hatsukaichi.hiroshima.jp/site/kanko/
Miyajima ropeway
http://miyajima-ropeway.info/
JR West Miyajima Ferry
https://jr-miyajimaferry.co.jp/
Miyajima Matsudai Kisen
http://miyajima-matsudai.co.jp/

Access from Mount Misen/about 50 minutes using the Miyajima Ropeway
Parking Lot/ None

Mount Noro, the highest mountain in Kure city, is a mountain at an altitude of 839 meters, where you can enjoy the beauty of the islands of the Seto Inland Sea and the nature of each season. There are plenty of spots where you can enjoy the first sunrise, such as the “Starry Observation Deck,” the “Kabutoiwa Observatory,” “Hachimaki Observatory,” and “Koho-ji Temple.” Also, the first sunrise event is planned at Noro Kogen Lodge, such as selling Noroyama's famous “wild boar soup,” “Noroyama burger,” and the lodge's specialty “freshly baked bread.”
Address: Hiroshima-ken Kure-shi Kawajiri-cho Itakyu 5502-378 Kokumin Shukusha Noro Kogen Lodge
Opening hours/ 24 hours
Usage fee/free
Access: Approximately 90 minutes by car from Saijo IC or Takaya JCT on the Sanyo Expressway
Parking: Available (free)
Website/
http://www.norosan.or.jp/

Access from Mt. Noro／Approx. 40 minutes by car
Parking lot/ available

The Fukuyama Green Line is a nickname for Prefectural Road 251 connecting Araiya, Mizunomi-cho, Fukuyama-shi to Ushiroji in Tomo-cho. The “Ushiroyama Park Observation Deck” in the “Seto Inland Sea National Park Ushiroyama” located along that prefectural road is a spot where you can overlook the Seto Inland Sea and Tomonoura.
Address: Notohara, Numakuma-cho, Fukuyama-shi, Hiroshima-ken
Opening hours/ 5:00 to 23:00 (all cars on the Fukuyama Green Line are prohibited from 23:00 to 5:00 the next day)
Usage fee: free
Access: Approximately 40 minutes by car from Fukuyama-Nishi IC on the Sanyo Expressway
Parking: Available (parking at Ushiroyama Park is free)

Onomichi City has been certified as a Japan Heritage Site. Senkoji Park, which overlooks the miniature garden city from the Middle Ages spun by the Onomichi Channel, is famous as a spot for the first sunrise, and is crowded with many people every year.
You can walk to Senkoji Park, but the “Mt. Senkoji Ropeway” has a special service every year starting at 6:30 on New Year's Day. Be sure to watch the first sunrise from the Senkoji Peak Observation Deck PEAK, which was reopened in 2021, and the Senkoji Park viewpoint “MiTemi” nearby. There is a bonus that the first 100 people who use the ropeway will receive an Onomichi sightseeing calendar.
Address: 19-1 Nishitsuchidocho, Onomichi-shi, Hiroshima-ken (Senkoji Park)
Opening hours/24 hours (Mt. Senkoji Ropeway runs specially from 6:30 on New Year's Day)
Usage fee/free
Access: Approximately 15 minutes on foot from JR Onomichi Station to “Ropeway Sanroku Station”, 3 minutes using the ropeway
Parking: Available (for a fee)

Access from Senko-ji Park: about 2.3 minutes on foot
Parking: Available (for a fee)

From the “Takayasan Mist Sea Observatory” on Mt. Takaya at an altitude of 491 meters, you can see a foggy and fantastic first sunrise, so it's a famous first sunrise spot that many people visit every year. Conditions are necessary for a “sea of fog” to occur, but the Miyoshi Basin is an area where fog is likely to occur, and it is crowded with people visiting every year with expectations in their hearts.
Address: Takayasan Kirinoumi Observatory, Awaya-cho, Miyoshi-shi, Hiroshima-ken
Opening hours/ 24 hours
Usage fee/free
Access: Approximately 20 minutes by car from Miyoshi IC on the Chugoku Expressway
Parking: Available (free)
Website/
https://www.miyoshi-dmo.jp/takataniyama/

Access from Mt. Takaya: about 40 minutes by car
Parking lot/ available