Day-trips from Hiroshima

We will be a 3 days in Hiroshima in May. One day-trip to Miyajima is an obvious choice, what other day-trips are worthwhile as well? Himeji, Okayama, Onomichi maybe.... which one would you recommend? Is there a possibility to store (large) luggage at the Himeji train station on the way back to Tokyo?

Hello,

personally I really enjoyed Onomichi.
If you're interested in Japanese gardens and castles, then Okayama is a great choice.
Also, Fukuyama Castle is not too far away.
You could also visit Iwakuni with Iwakuni Castle and the famous Kintaikyo Bridge in Yamaguchi Prefecture. It's not too far from Miyajima.

If you like animals, how about visiting "Rabbit Island"?
http://zoomingjapan.com/travel/rabbit-island-japan/

Forgot to mention:
Himeji is a bit far, but of course worth a visit.
There are coin lockers, but if there's non available for the size you need, then just go to the large tourist information center. They might take care of your luggage! :)

great, thank you for the valuable advice! I'll take a closer look at these destinations.

As mentioned above - Onomichi has a nice walk which has plenty of temples. The temples are quite uninspiring but the views and watching life past by is quite interesting.

If you move quickly - you can also visit Okayama & Kurashiki in the same day. Okayama has a nice garden and I also enjoyed the castle. Kurashiki has a nice canal area which can be visited in 1 or 2 hours. Both locations are around 20 minutes (from memory) by train with many departures between the two.

It's a bit far and not as nice as the others, but Yamaguchi is also a possibility.

Another slightly annoying but fantastic place to visit is Takahashi.

Yamaguchi - http://www.japan-guide.com/community/mfedley/report-1421
Kurashiki - http://www.japan-guide.com/community/mfedley/report-1414
Okayama - http://www.japan-guide.com/community/mfedley/report-1407
Takahashi - http://www.japan-guide.com/community/mfedley/report-1413
Onomichi - http://www.japan-guide.com/community/mfedley/report-1415

great, thank you for the amzing tips. great photos! which one of the trip possibilities would you recommend the most?

Onomichi. It really is lovely. However let me offer another option. Takehara, it has an area of preserved buildings and the rail trip there is quite something too It runs along the Seto sea. You could do both in a day if you wanted.

I visited Okayama and Kurashiki and enjoyed them both. They can definitely be done in the one day, but I stayed two nights in Okayama and spent a day first riding a bike across the Kibi Plains (there is a page about that on this website), which was really enjoyable - riding through the rice fields, saying hello to all the locals, and visiting a couple of shrines and temples along the way. I then spent the afternoon in Kurashiki, which is very pretty with its canal and European-inspired buildings.

thank you all for your valuable advice! It is very much appreciated.

Himeji is absolutely worth it even if a bit far from Hiroshima: with japanese trains though, nothing is impossible and the day-trip is absolutely doable. Coin lockers are available in all stations but it depends on the size of your luggage: most of them have also few large-size lockers.
Don't miss Koko-en near Himeji-jo, that garden is lovely.

My second choice would be Okayama, Koraku-en was my favourite of all the three "best gardens" in Japan and Okayama-jo is quite nice too.

How about Kintai-kyo Bridge :
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6177.html

For close by, Iwakuni is one excellent choice. The iconic bridge and mountaintop castle are very picturesque:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0COOZXi66mM
Farther along is Akiyoshido, a magnificent 300 million year old 1km limestone cave that is stunning:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6130.html
Onomichi is another good choice with its temple tour, but its real treasure is the Konsanji temple that few make it over to see:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97Q5EjEOXI8
If you like nature, in Okayama there is one of Japan's Top 3 traditional gardens, Korakuen, plus the Handayama Botanical garden in addition to Okyama Castle:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zAI3_N7NEM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGQ8o7k9GbA
And one other idea if you really want to get away from the tourist crowds and enjoy a magnificent surreal mountain hike, venture over to Kotohira in Kagawa. The half day hike is something you will not forget:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ley9rVIewoQ
There should be plenty to keep you busy.