[samurai007]

Just another option... I never once took the Shinkansen in my 2 years in Japan, it was too expensive IMO. You definitely can get from Osaka to Hiroshima by local trains, I did it. I think it took about 6 hours, maybe a little more because I stopped for a quick lunch. If you are in Japan during a time when the 18-kippu is available, you can use 1 of the tickets and then the trip will cost only 22 dollars, about 1/5 or 1/6 the cost of the bullet train. Yeah, it's much slower, but if you've got the time, why not save the money?