About the editor

Last updated: June 2026

Masayuki Ogasahara

Editor · born and raised in Kure, Hiroshima

I’m from Kure

I grew up in Yakeyama, a residential neighborhood up in the hills of Kure. True to its name (yake-yama means “burnt mountain”), it sits high enough to have no train station of its own. Living in Tokyo now, that is hard to imagine, but back then it was just normal. My days moved between the hills above and the sea below: down into the city, or out to the coast at Kurahashi and Karugahama. I spent much of that childhood in the water, and free-diving off Kurahashi was my favorite thing in the world.

Kure runs in my family. My father worked at Kure City Hall for his whole career until he retired last year, and a great-uncle of mine served as mayor of Kure during the years the Yamato Museum was built. I grew up in a house where the city mattered, so the wish to do something for Kure one day was always there in the background.

Why this site exists

These days I live just outside Tokyo and my work is in a different field, but it keeps me close to AI tools every day. Hiroshima is famous all over the world, and Kure, right next door, has the things travelers actually want: the Yamato Museum, the naval history, a submarine you can walk through. Yet almost none of it had been written up properly in English. The guides that do exist are often by people who have never set foot here, with opening hours, fares, and even restaurant names that are simply wrong. That gap is where I felt I could help: use what I know about the city, and the tools I work with, to put Kure on the map for visitors from abroad.

I still get back to Kure two or three times a year, usually with my father, and that is when a lot of the on-the-ground photographs for this site get taken.

How we work

• Accuracy first. Opening hours, prices, and access are checked against primary sources (official sites, the operators themselves). If we can’t verify a number, we don’t print it.
• Neutral on the war. Kure’s naval history is told factually, with respect for the people on every side. We don’t glorify war.
• Honest about images. Most illustrations are generated with AI (Gemini) from real reference photography, and this is disclosed on every article. On-site photographs are taken by me and my father in Kure.
• Dated and sourced. Articles carry a “last visited” date and cite their sources, so you can see how current the information is.

Independent and reader-supported

Visit Kure is independent. No business pays us to cover it or to leave something out. The site is supported by affiliate links to verified booking partners (such as rail passes and tours); when you book through them we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you, and we only point you to things we would use ourselves. More detail is in our privacy policy.

Get in touch

Found something out of date, or have a question about visiting Kure? Reach me at m.ogasahara@kure-japan.com or on X at @visitkure.