Living in Hiroshima

Hi guys,

Anyone here that has personally lived in Hiroshima city? To be precise, I will be living near the port or close to the famous Miyajima.

I have been offered a teaching job here, and I'm wondering how's life here like.

Just to clarify, I've never stepped foot in Hiroshima (the furthest I've been down south is Kyoto).

To breakdown my questions:

1) Living expenses. On a typical 250 000 yen salary, will it be enough for one person with low-moderate spending habits? I aim to save 150 000 yen a month if possible.

2) I've heard of stories of how people say that anywhere outside of the greater Tokyo area is deemed as "inaka" or countryside (apart from major cities like Osaka, Yokohama, Kyoto of course). How city-like is Hiroshima city? I'm not looking for the next New York city or Tokyo, but just enough city life to keep me occupied will suffice.

Thanks in advance.

I've never lived there but I've traveled to the port and city a few times now so I can comment a little on that. Hiroshima does have a decent sized city center right outside of the main train station. It's in no way a huge city like Tokyo, but it does have it's shopping stores and restaurants there.

If you're by the port, you'll be about 45 minutes away from that city center. It's in no way country though (as in nothing but rice fields), it feels more like a suburb or small town. To me it's very comfortable since it's not super busy like Tokyo but it's also not dead quiet all the time like the rural areas.

Hello,

I currently live and work in Fukuyama, which is the second most populated city in Hiroshima Prefecture, and I have had the experience of living in Hiroshima City for a high school home stay.

I highly recommend Hiroshima. Being from Las Vegas, I find that the shopping and other fun stuff to do isn't lacking. Tokyo is larger, but you can find the same kinds of things to do on a smaller scale in Hiroshima. Also, the people who live here are among the nicest I've met anywhere. I have stayed in Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, and Yokohama for 2 months each, but Hiroshima is my favorite of all because the people are very warm in my opinion. Diversity is a bit lacking compared to Tokyo, but naturally so as it is a much larger city.

People who live in Hiroshima seem to also be less tired of foreign tourists-- while I've been brushed off and treated coldly (on the rare occasion of course) in the aforementioned places, I have never had such an experience in Hiroshima. This may just be my own luck, however.

I have friends who live in both Hatsukaichi and Itsukaichi, which are away from the main city and closer to Miyajima as you described. They love their cities and don't feel they live in the "inaka" since they have Hiroshima nearby for big nights out. You might feel more isolated if you live far from a station, however. Oh, and I recommend getting a car if you'd like many more experiences to be open to you.

I think that the amount of money you will earn is enough. I earn about the same amount and live at the very center of a huge city, about a minute walk from the station (which has a shinkansen stop). I don't feel I'm poor at all.


Good luck with the decision!

Hiroshima city is the largest city in Chugoku area. its population is 117 million.(Kyoto is 147 million.) Is that too small for you ?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vs1QLauYec

1) Living expenses. On a typical 250 000 yen salary, will it be enough for one person with low-moderate spending habits?

Yes, it would probably be fine for a person with low spending habits.

I aim to save 150 000 yen a month if possible.

That's more difficult. 100,000 yen/month budget goes extremely quickly once you add in rent, utilities, food and transportation.

2) I've heard of stories of how people say that anywhere outside of the greater Tokyo area is deemed as "inaka" or countryside (apart from major cities like Osaka, Yokohama, Kyoto of course). How city-like is Hiroshima city?

As mentioned, Hiroshima is dense around the station but otherwise spread out where it feels kind of like the suburbs. Incidentally, I find Kyoto to have a similar feel to it with a more spread out, medium size city image to it rather than an urban center like Tokyo or Osaka.

To all: Thanks for the information. They were very helpful. I appreciate it.

@ken

Hiroshima city is the largest city in Chugoku area. its population is 117 million.(Kyoto is 147 million.) Is that too small for you?

Thank you for the youtube link. However I just want to point out that there is no need for you to be snarky in your comment. I understand that we're all behind a computer screen, but my guess is you wouldn't talk like that if you were talking to someone face to face (even if he/she is a stranger), will you?

the word "inaka" has a few meanings in Japanese, one is an area where people can't live.
people living in large cities often use this word to look down upon people living in inaka.
your post is looking down upon people living in Hiroshima, because you use this word when comparing Hiroshima and Tokyo.
if you like large cities, it is better to find a job there.

If you read my post again, note that I said 'I've heard stories about people comparing anywhere outside the greater Tokyo area as inaka'. I wanted to make sure that rumors are just rumors. Did I accuse Hiroshima as being inaka? No. The objective of my post was to hear people's opinions on their experience living there. It wasn't aimed at putting down any cities for the matter.

Perhaps you should read carefully first before jumping to conclusions.