Getting Around Kure
Kure is a compact maritime city wrapped around its harbour, with the main sights, the rail station, and the waterfront clustered closely enough that you can cover a lot of it on foot. For anything beyond the centre, the Kure Line and the local bus network do most of the work, with taxis and ferries filling in the gaps.
Rail: The Kure Line
The backbone of public transport in Kure is the JR West Kure Line, which threads along the coast through the city and connects it with Hiroshima to the west and Mihara to the east. Stations in and around the city include Yasuura, Ato, Akikawajiri, Nigata, Hiro, Shin-Hiro, Akiaga, Kure, Kawaraishi, Yoshiura, Karugahama, Tennō, and Kure-Portopia, so the line also serves as a handy way to reach outlying districts and the Portopia area.
Most visitors arrive via Hiroshima, from where Kure Line trains run roughly three times an hour during the day. Two of those are rapid services and one is local; the rapid is the quicker option, but both cost the same, so take whichever comes first if you are not in a hurry. From the east, trains from Mihara take considerably longer and usually require a change at Hiro. A routing via Kaitaichi can shave a little time off the trip but costs more.
The Kure Line is covered by the Japan Rail Pass. JR West also sells several regional passes aimed at temporary visitors with foreign passports, which can work out cheaper: the Hiroshima-Yamaguchi Pass, the Okayama-Hiroshima-Yamaguchi Pass, the San'yō-San'in Pass, and the Kansai-Hiroshima Pass. Each covers a different slice of the JR network around Hiroshima and beyond, and each has its own validity period and price, so check which one matches your itinerary before buying.
Buses
Buses are the main way to reach places the rail line does not serve, including parts of the city and the surrounding islands. The Kurea Line, run jointly by Hiroden Bus and Chūgoku JR Bus, is the workhorse service between central Hiroshima and Kure, departing frequently from the Hiroshima Bus Center and terminating at Kure Station. Note that it does not stop at Hiroshima Station; if you are starting there, get off at Minami-kuyakusho-mae and change to a tram.
San'yō Bus also runs a service from both the Bus Center and Hiroshima Station South Exit toward the Seto Inland Sea islands east of central Kure, reaching Kure Station, but it is far less frequent, so plan around its timetable. For connections to Fukuyama and Mihara, one practical approach is to take the bus to Hiroshima Airport and change there.
Long-distance overnight buses are limited, largely because Kure sits so close to Hiroshima. Chūgoku JR Bus runs a seasonal overnight service to Osaka, and jointly with Odakyū City Bus operates a Tokyo service that calls at Kure only in peak periods.
Taxis and Ride-Hailing
Taxis are available in Kure and are a reasonable option for short hops, late arrivals, or reaching sights on the hillsides above the centre where bus coverage is thinner.
Ferries
Kure Central pier sits next to the Yamato Museum and is about a ten-minute walk from Kure Station, making ferries a genuinely convenient option rather than a niche one. Services operated by Seto Naikai Kisen and Ishizaki Kisen are the best way to reach Kure from Matsuyama and, by extension, much of western Shikoku. Two classes of vessel are available: a faster jet service and a slower cruise ferry, with the jet costing more and taking well under half the time of the ferry. On the Matsuyama side, you will need to take a bus or walk about ten minutes from Takahama station on the Iyotetsu Takahama Line to reach the ferry terminal.
The same operators also run ferries to Hiroshima Port. Again there is a fast jet and a slower cruise ferry, with the jet costing more. Be aware that Hiroshima Port is not central Hiroshima; you will need to change to a tram there to reach the city centre.
Walkability
Central Kure is quite walkable. Kure Station, the waterfront, the Yamato Museum, and the JMSDF museum area are all within easy walking distance of one another, and the Kure Central pier is a short stroll from the station as well. The city's museums and cultural sights are concentrated enough that a visitor can string several together on foot in a single day. Beyond the centre, however, Kure spreads along the coast and up steep hillsides, and the outlying islands and districts are not realistically walkable from the core, so use the Kure Line or a bus for those.
Getting There from the Airport
The nearest airport is Hiroshima Airport, which is less than an hour away by car via the Higashihiroshima-Kure Expressway. For public transport, Hiroden Bus runs a direct service between the airport and Kure, with departures spread through the day. The bus takes about an hour from Kure Station, or a little less from Aki-Aga station, and a return ticket is available that is valid for seven days, which is worth knowing if you are making a round trip. If you are heading onward to Fukuyama or Mihara, the airport bus is also a sensible interchange point.