Hiroshima to Tokyo, Shinkansen or Plane? "It Can Add Up to Longer Than the Time You Spend on Board"

What Japanese people said — picked from the top 200 of 790 comments

• I think the probability of a plane being delayed is higher than the probability of the shinkansen being late. And when a flight is cancelled it's quite a hassle. This was an unusual case.

  確率的には新幹線が遅れる確率より飛行機が遅延する確率のほうが高いと思う。 しかも飛行機は欠航するとなかなか面倒です 珍しいパターンですね。

  — @shvvv3211Most liked141 likes

• In the Hiroshima to Tokyo case, it's a long way from central Hiroshima to Hiroshima Airport, so with a plane you have the travel time from the city out to the airport, the check-in, the security check and the wait before boarding, and there's baggage screening after you land as well. It can add up to longer than the time you spend on board. Traveling by shinkansen is almost entirely just city to city.

  広島東京の場合は広島の中心部から広島空港まで遠いので飛行機は都市部から空港までの移動時間や搭乗手続きや手荷物検査や機内の待ち時間もあり着陸後のも手荷物検査があります。搭乗している時間より長い場合があります。新幹線移動はほぼ都市部と都市部の移動だけです。

  — @shintaroguri106 likes

• What you get after landing isn't a security check, it's collecting your bag if you checked one, isn't it?

  着陸後にあるのは手荷物検査ではなく預けていた場合の荷物の受け取りでは

  — @BFMWHS23 likes

• About the "four-hour wall": for most airports it takes an hour from the main station to the airport, 30 minutes for check-in, an hour of flying time, 30 minutes for baggage claim and connecting to transport from the airport, and an hour from the airport to the main station, for four hours in total, and it's said as a statistical result that when the shinkansen takes under four hours, more people pick the shinkansen once you factor in the trouble of transfers. There's a catch to this, though. The analysis compares Tokyo to Hiroshima with Tokyo to Hakata, but Fukuoka Airport is an unusually urban airport even by world standards, so the travel time between Fukuoka Airport and Hakata Station is far shorter than at other airports, which makes the plane faster still, and no allowance is made for the fact that Fukuoka Airport is an urban airport in the result where the plane wins Hakata to Tokyo by a mile. Also, on Sanyo-area sections to Tokyo, where the plane and the shinkansen follow roughly the same route, you get more or less the expected conclusion, but on sections like Osaka to Kyushu where the routes differ (because the plane runs in more of a straight line), there are stretches where the plane has the advantage even though the shinkansen is under four hours. And out towards Omiya, where the leg to Haneda Airport takes longer, the answer changes again. So the honest position is that four hours is only a rough guide. That said, the plane is also said to carry a higher risk of the queueing for the runway that gets called "waiting to take off" and "waiting to land," and of cancellations and delays caused by weather. This time it was the shinkansen that had the trouble, but we shouldn't forget that the risk of a delay from trouble is actually higher with the plane.

  「4時間の壁」についてですが、大方の空港に関しては、主要駅から空港までの所要時間が1時間・搭乗手続の時間として30分・飛行機の搭乗時間が1時間・荷物受け取りと空港からの交通機関の接続に30分・空港から主要駅までの移動に1時間で合計4時間かかり、新幹線が4時間未満だと乗換の手間等を考えると新幹線を選ぶ方が多いという統計上の結果として言われていることなのです。ただ、これにはウラがあって、この考察は東京～広島と東京～博多で比較していますが、福岡空港が世界的に見ても稀な都市型空港であるため、福岡空港～博多駅間の移動時間が他の空港よりも極端に短いため飛行機が更に早く、博多～東京だと飛行機の圧倒的勝利になっているという結果に福岡空港が都市型空港である事の配慮がされていません。また、飛行機と新幹線のルートがほぼ同じ山陽区間～東京だとほぼほぼ期待通りの結論になるのですが、ルートが異なる（飛行機の方が直線的に走るため）大阪～九州の場合などは新幹線が4時間を切っていても飛行機の方が有利という区間もあります。また、羽田空港までの区間がもっと掛かる大宮方面だと答えはまた違ってきます。ただ、4時間は目安とはなりますのでとしか言えないというのが実情でしょう。但し、飛行機の方が「離陸待ち」や「着陸待ち」と言われるような滑走路進入の順番待ちや「天候による欠航・遅延」のリスクは飛行機の方が高いとも言われております。今回は新幹線の方でトラブルがありましたが、実はトラブルによる遅延のリスクは飛行機の方が高いという事も、忘れてはいけません。

  — @池上享則87 likes

• People often bring up Fukuoka Airport when they talk about the "four-hour wall," but Fukuoka Airport is cheating in the first place...

  「4時間の壁」で福岡空港を引き合いに出す事が多いけど、そもそも福岡空港がチートなんですよね…

  — @tilt_arakawa484370 likes

• I'm in Yokohama, but no matter what, I never waver: it's the plane, every time, because I don't have to keep my luggage at my feet. I can't sit in a seat with my bags for four hours.

  私も 横浜ですが どんな時もくじけず 足元に荷物を置く必要のない 飛行機一択です 4時間も荷物と一緒に席には居られませんよ

  — @erikuwahara593010 likes

• I'm a Hiroshima person who has used Hiroshima Airport hundreds of times, and if you buy well in advance the plane is about 10,000 yen even on a legacy carrier, and sometimes it comes down to around 7,000. For getting around in Tokyo, if you're starting from Hiroshima, a Keikyu round trip plus the Tokyo Subway Ticket is good value. The limousine buses run in equal numbers from Hiroshima Station and from the Bus Center, and there's the route via JR too, so there are really about twice as many as you'd think. Hiroshima Airport and Iwakuni Airport are treated as the same airport, and from around Nishi-Hiroshima westward Iwakuni gets easier to use, so a round trip where you go out to Hiroshima and come back from Iwakuni after going around Miyajima is possible too. The flight path shown on screen just draws a straight line between the two airports and isn't the real one. Up in the air it's basically split into inbound and outbound lanes and they take roughly the same route every time. Because of the westerlies, flights towards Tokyo sometimes hit about 1,000 kph over the ground and arrive quite early. The other direction only manages about 500 to 600 kph, so the westbound flight feels visibly slow. In both directions the A seat has the better view.

  広島空港数百回利用してる広島人だけど、飛行機はだいぶ早く買えばレガシー便でも1万くらいだし7000円くらいになってることもある。 東京での足は広島発だったら京急往復+Tokyo subway ticketが利用価値が高い。 リムジンバスは広島駅発からとバスセンター発の便が同数あって、JR経由もあるので実際は倍くらいいる。 広島空港と岩国空港は同一空港扱いで、西広島あたりを境に岩国空港の方が使いやすくなってくるんで、広島行きは広島で帰りは宮島回って岩国から帰るという往復ルートも可能。 表示された飛行ルートは空港と空港を直線で結んでるだけで実際とは異なる。空の上も基本上も上り線と下り線に分かれてだいたい毎回同じルートを通る。 偏西風の関係で東京行きは対地1000kphくらい出ることもあってかなり早く着く。逆向きは5～600kphくらいしか出ないんで、下り便は目に見えて遅く感じる。 どちら方向へも基本A席の方が景色はよい。

  — @popozz46 likes

• The limousine bus from Hiroshima Station to the airport can get caught in expressway traffic depending on the timing and people do miss flights, and the route by JR local line to Shiraichi and then a local bus is on a stretch where JR delays happen easily, so the arrival time is hard to read 😅

  広島駅から空港までのリムジンバスはタイミングによって高速の渋滞に巻き込まれて乗り遅れることもあるようだし、JR在来線で白市から路線バスのルートもJRは遅延が起こりやすい区間なので到着が読みにくいんですよ…😅

  — @dosyou62 likes

• I live in Kanagawa. A while back, heading from central Hiroshima to Hiroshima Airport, I took the shuttle bus that should have got me there in time for the flight I'd booked, but the expressway had a huge jam from an accident and I missed it, and I've gone by shinkansen ever since... It is a very long ride on the Nozomi, mind you 😅

  神奈川在住です。以前、広島市内から広島空港へ向かうとき、予約していた便に間に合うはずのシャトルバスに乗ったのですが、高速が事故で大渋滞して乗り遅れたことがあって、それ以来新幹線で向かうことにしました… のぞみにもだいぶ長く乗りますけどね😅

  — @みりのあ55 likes

• With the plane, the bus from Hiroshima Station to Hiroshima Airport varies a lot depending on holiday periods like Golden Week and on the morning and evening slots, and at Haneda too you can be kept waiting after landing for a gate depending on how busy the runways are, and there's the classic LCC experience of being put down at the far end of the airport and bussed in. On that score the shinkansen isn't accident-free either, but its punctuality isn't in the same league as the plane's. If it's "a leisure trip where you don't care much about the arrival time, on a cheap LCC fare" then the plane, but otherwise the shinkansen looks better.

  飛行機の場合、広島駅→広島空港のバスがGWなどの連休や朝夕の時間帯によって所要時間の振れ幅が大きく、 また羽田空港でも滑走路の混雑具合で着陸後に降り口との接続を待たされたり、 LCCではおなじみの「空港の端に降りさせられて、バスで移動」もある。 その点、新幹線もアクシデントがないわけではないけど、定時性は飛行機の比ではない。 「到着時間にさほどこだわらないレジャー目的で運賃の安いLCC利用」なら飛行機だけど、それ以外は新幹線がよさそう。

  — @aikoku-banzai58 likes

• There's a big seasonal element to it. The problem is the season when the fog comes in.

  季節性が大きいんですよ。問題は霧が出る季節なんですよね。

  — @hiroakitakano883130 likes

• Hiroshima Station to Hiroshima Airport is just too far to be usable, and however early the plane is, you have to be there 30 minutes before departure, so the time advantage disappears. With the shinkansen, if you've got an EX reservation you can walk through the shinkansen gate one minute before departure and still make it.

  広島駅〜広島空港があまりにも遠過ぎて使えないのと、 飛行機はいくら早くても出発の30分前にはいないと行けないので時間の有利さが消滅してしまいます。 新幹線ならEX予約を入れておけば発車1分前に新幹線改札に入っても乗れますしね。

  — @高瀬みずき-j9f14 likes

• A real example, on a weekday in late September 2022. Shibuya around 11:30 to Shinagawa around 11:40 to 11:50, Haneda Airport around 12:10, departing 13:30, arriving Hiroshima Airport 14:50, leaving 15:15, Shiraichi 15:36, Miyauchi-Kushido 16:53, four transfers. Or Shibuya around 11:30 via Shinjuku, Tokyo departing 12:30, Hiroshima arriving 16:23, leaving 16:30, Miyauchi-Kushido 16:53, three transfers. Miyauchi-Kushido is my nearest station. At list price the shinkansen is cheaper: with a Nozomi Hayatoku 21 ticket, Shibuya (Tokyo city zone) to Itsukaichi (Hiroshima city zone) is 15,000 yen. But on that particular day, the plane (JAL) was 9,170 yen Haneda to Hiroshima on its own 21-day advance fare. Spring Japan was 7,700, not far off the highway bus. The outbound was 8,270 on a JAL bargain sale, so 17,440 round trip. On top of that, my destination this time was Kaihin-Makuhari, and there was a bus straight from Haneda Airport to the front door of my hotel. Once you take all that in, it comes down to where you live and where you're going, whether the airline has a sale on (JAL puts out bargain fares now and then), and after that it's down to preference.

  実例※2022年9月下旬の某日(平日)の場合※ 渋谷11:30頃→品川11:40頃～11:50頃→羽田空港12:10頃～13:30発→広島空港14:50着~15:15発→白市15:36→宮内串戸16:53　乗換4回 渋谷11:30頃→新宿→東京12:30発→広島16:23着～16:30発→宮内串戸16:53　乗換3回 ※宮内串戸=自宅最寄り駅。 正規料金は新幹線が安い。のぞみ早得21きっぷの場合、渋谷(東京都区内)→五日市(広島市内)15000円。 ところがこの日は、飛行機(JAL)が早得21で羽田→広島9170円だった。スプリングジャパンが7700円、高速バスと大差ない。往路もJALのバーゲンセールで8270円だったので、往復17440円。しかも今回の目的地は海浜幕張で、羽田空港から宿泊先のホテル玄関まで直行のバスが出ていた。それを考えると、もはや居住地と目的地の位置、飛行機のバーゲンの有無(JALは時折バーゲンセール価格が出ることがある)、あとは好みの問題での選択になる。

  — @ysdream27 likes

• Going back a bit... Tokyo to Hiroshima used to be mainly by air, but the old airport could only take propeller aircraft so they moved it, and the new one is "deep in the mountains." That, plus the Nozomi speeding up, is how the shinkansen became the main way. In the old days, before the Nozomi, the "finishing move" when the Tokyo to Hiroshima flight was cancelled was to fly as far as Fukuoka and come back to Hiroshima on the shinkansen. (Even then there were plenty of Haneda to Fukuoka flights and it was almost unheard of not to get a seat on the day; the limousine bus from Fukuoka Airport got you to Hakata quickly, and catching a Hikari at Hakata to Hiroshima didn't take long at all.)

  昔の話をすると‥昔は東京‐広島は飛行機主流だったんです、でもプロペラ機しか降りれない空港なんで移転したんですが、それが「超山の中」なんです それで、のぞみのスピ－ドアップも有り新幹線主流になったんです 昔は（のぞみが無い頃）は、東京‐広島便が欠航した時の「必殺技」として、福岡まで飛行機で行って新幹線で広島に戻る‥ってやった事が有ります （当時から羽田－福岡便は、便数も多く、当日でも席取れないってまず無いんです、福岡空港から博多駅は当時はリムジンバスでしたが博多まですぐでした、博多でひかりを捕まえて広島までそれほど時間は掛かりませんでした）

  — @けろっぴ-b1b19 likes

• The Hikari chime you can hear at Hiroshima Station if you listen closely is top-tier.

  広島駅で耳をすますと聞こえて来る ひかりチャイム が神

  — @pasta102660 likes

• For Tokyo to Hiroshima, there are people who use Iwakuni Kintaikyo Airport with the plane, although there aren't many flights.

  東京－広島間 飛行機だと、本数は少ないけど岩国錦帯橋空港を利用される方もいるでしょう。

  — @山本一彦-j1g21 likes

• From Hiroshima, Iwakuni Airport is fairly easy to use. You take the Sanyo Line to Iwakuni Station and then a bus from Iwakuni Station to the airport, and it can work out about the same as the time from Hiroshima Station to Hiroshima Airport.

  広島だと、岩国空港も割と使いやすいですね。山陽本線で岩国駅まで行って、岩国駅から空港までバスに乗ることになりますが、広島駅から広島空港の所要時間と同じくらいだったりします

  — @ジュリアン誠十郎19 likes

• Hiroshima Airport does carry a fair risk of cancellation from fog. Actually, if you pick your time slot, going from the Hiroshima Bus Center via Iwakuni Airport is worth a try.

  広島空港は、結構霧で欠航になるリスクはありますね。 実は時間帯を選べば、広島バスセンターから岩国空港経由をやってみるのもいいかと思います。

  — @yoshki4429 likes

• SaveHiroshima Airport↗広島空港Mihara, Hiroshima Prefecture

  The airport in the thread's crosshairs. No rail link; the limousine bus from Hiroshima Station is about 50 minutes for 1,500 yen and runs on the expressway, which is why commenters call the arrival time hard to predict (62 likes). Fog cancellations are a seasonal risk (30 likes).

  Sources: hij.airport.jp — checked 2026-08-27

• SaveIwakuni Kintaikyo Airport↗岩国錦帯橋空港Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture

  The instead. Fewer Haneda flights, but the connecting bus from JR Iwakuni Station's east exit is 7 minutes and 200 yen, and it pairs neatly with a Miyajima day (21 and 19 likes).

  Sources: iwakuni-airport.jp — checked 2026-08-27

• SaveShiraichi Station↗白市駅Higashihiroshima

  The JR back door to Hiroshima Airport, 13 to 15 minutes away by connecting bus. Commenters are split on it: it avoids the expressway, but one warns the local line itself is prone to delays (62 likes).

  Sources: hij.airport.jp — checked 2026-08-27

• SaveHiroshima Bus Center↗広島バスセンターNaka-ku, Hiroshima

  The other limousine departure point, in the middle of the shopping district rather than at the station. A Hiroshima commenter (46 likes) points out the two stops run roughly equal numbers of buses, so there are more departures than the timetable at the station suggests.

Named in the source comments. Where a note gives a price, opening status or rule, we checked it against the linked source on the date shown — everything else is what the comments said. All of it can change; check the map listing before you go.

Should you take the shinkansen or fly from Hiroshima to Tokyo?

Take the train unless you have a cheap fare and a destination near Haneda. The most-liked comment (141 likes) is that a flight is more likely to be delayed than a shinkansen and that a cancellation is far more trouble. A direct Nozomi does Tokyo to Hiroshima in about four hours with no transfer, while the flight is roughly 90 minutes in the air plus a 50-minute bus at the Hiroshima end and a check-in cutoff before that.

Sources: japan-guide.com — checked 2026-08-27

How do you get from Hiroshima Station to Hiroshima Airport?

By limousine bus, about 50 minutes for 1,500 yen one way from the Shinkansen exit. There is no railway to the airport, which is the whole problem in this thread: the bus runs on the expressway, so commenters warn it swings wildly at Obon, New Year and Golden Week (47 likes) and that an accident once cost one traveler her flight (55 likes). The airport's own site promotes an alternative it calls the reassuring route: JR to Shiraichi Station, then a 13 to 15 minute connecting bus that stays off the expressway.

Sources: hij.airport.jp · hij.airport.jp — checked 2026-08-27

Is there another airport near Hiroshima?

Yes. Iwakuni Kintaikyo Airport sits just over the prefecture border in Yamaguchi and several commenters use it for Tokyo (21 and 19 likes), because the connection is short: the airport's own page lists a 7-minute, 200-yen bus from the east exit of JR Iwakuni Station. One Hiroshima commenter with 46 likes flies in to Hiroshima and back out of Iwakuni after going around Miyajima. There are fewer flights, so check the schedule before you plan around it.

Sources: iwakuni-airport.jp — checked 2026-08-27

Does the Japan Rail Pass cover the Nozomi to Hiroshima?

Not by itself. Pass holders can now ride the Nozomi by buying a supplement ticket, which JR Central prices at 6,500 yen for Tokyo or Shinagawa to Hiroshima and sells only inside Japan. Every other shinkansen on the line stays included, but they stop more often, so the four-hour frame the thread keeps circling gets wider if you skip the supplement.

Sources: global.jr-central.co.jp — checked 2026-08-27