Located about an hour away from Hiroshima Station, Iwakuni is home to one of the most famous bridges in Japan, the Kintai Bridge. First built in 1673, the wooden arched bridge rests on stone piers. Due to frequent flooding, parts of the bridge were rebuilt every 20 and 40 years until WWII, during which maintenance stopped. The most recent renovations took place between 2001 and 2004.

Crossing Kintai Bridge leads to Iwakuni Castle, originally completed in 1608. However, due to a law restricting the number of castles in each province to only one, the castle was partially deconstructed and used as an office building. The replica of the castle, which stands now, was completed in 1962, and has been chosen as one of the 100 Great Castles of Japan. This area is particularly popular in spring when the cherry blossoms are blooming.