We want to see as much as possible around the area but realize the cold may limit our day.
As we have a JP rail pass travel is not an issue
Also any fun night time places - not really into clubing but dont want to sit in the hotel either

Welcome to Flyer Talk.

Regarding your post, is there a question in there someplace?

If you're flying into Hiroshima and spending four days around there, you probably don't need a rail pass. (In fact, even if you arrive and depart from KIX - and spend four days around Hiroshima - the rail pass isn't a money saver).

The climate in Hiroshima is generally mild, so its unlikely to restrict your activities. With regard to entertainment, I find that it's a very friendly and lively city - if you're happy to socialize in a bar, there are lots to choose from.

Potential daytrips from Hiroshima - Dogo Onsen, Miyajima, Himeji, Okayama, Kurashiki, etc. You might find this site helpful:
http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/location/r...ima/index.html

Soo sorry I did abbreviate a little.
The complete request is;
Does anyone have any suggestions for a 4 day itinerary for Hiroshima. We don�t know too much about Hiroshima or the surrounding area apart from the hottest tourist spots that we probably have already read about?
The 4 days are part of 3 weeks we have in Japan which is why we have a rail pass.
Hiroshima is the furthest south we will be staying we are also visiting Kyoto,Tokyo (which we have visited once before), Nikko, Sendai, Hakadate and Sapporo.
We like to go out in the evenings but as it will be cold ( Mid Feb) perhaps someone has some fun or interesting eatery/nightlife suggestions rather than walking the streets.
We are grateful for any advice.

Thank you via your suggested site I started looking at Yamaguchi. do you know if this is worth a day visit?

Miyajima and Himeji are absolute must-dos. I didn't find anything really interesting about Hiroshima itself except for the peace park/museum. Can't really help about night life. I would consider:
day 1: Himeji
day 2: Miyajima
day 3: Peace Park
day 4: Fukuoka (Hakata)

Apart from Hagi, I haven't seen much in Yamaguchi that would justify a big detour. Take the bridge at Iwakuni for example: I saw it on my way down the coast and felt that it was a nice little diversion on a long road trip, but if I'd made a special journey to see it, I'd feel let down.

I think Hagi is a lovely little town with old samurai houses and it gets fewer tourists than it would if it were more accessible. But I'm not sure if it's the best investment of your time if you're based in Hiroshima. (It's about 3.5 hours from Hiroshima). If you decided to visit Hagi, you could also stop in Shimonoseki for some Fugu - Feb 9 is Fugu day, which is a big deal there.

If you were interested in Hagi, I would say that it would be better to do it as part of a trip along the San-in coast (visiting Izumo, Iwami, Matsue and so on) rather than trying to fit it in with a trip to Hiroshima. It's worth noting that the Sanin coast has more rain and harsh weather than the Sanyo coast.

A lot of Yamaguchi is a forgotten rust-belt region. If you're interested to see a post-industrial ghost town, I think Ube is a good example. But most tourists aren't very interested in abandonned industrial plant and derelict entertainment centers.

Bottom line - For a couple of tourists based in Hiroshima for four days, I think Yamaguchi offers less value than the places that I mentioned in my previous post.

On Saturdays there is the fish market in Shimonoseki.....lots of sushi to eat.(fugu being a speciality)Across the straight is Moji Retro Town in Kitakyushu City. I am by no means suggesting going there but if one is in the neighborhood......

There are great hot springs in Yamaguchi Prefecture but not as famous as those in Kyushu....

If I was in Hiroshima for 4 days with a rail pass I'd definitely be using one of those days to pop over to Fukuoka for a look around. Only 2 hours on the shinkansen.
Other suggestions might be Kure to see the model of the Yamato (very good by all reports) or to Etajima to see the naval headquarters.
Take the ferry to Shikoku. One suggestion is to go to Imabari on the ferry then take the bus back to Hiroshima over the Shimanami Kaido, the series of bridges that connect Ehime to Hiroshima. Nice scenery.

Thank you all
I think I have a much better idea of the area - and as a photographer I even find the idea of a post-industrial ghost town facinating, just what I was looking for, but be sure we will take up other suggestions
Cheers

Lots of examples all over Japan
http://home.f01.itscom.net/spiral/

(Unfortunately, I notice that the owner of the site has allowed some of his photos to disappear - not sure if that's because he's selling them now or just because his web site is falling into the same decay as the locations he loves to photograph).

I think the reason is because he's come out with a book, and there may be copyright issues.

I would second the trip to Fukuoka. Spend one or two days in Fukuoka instead. It's a very lively city, with an amazing night scene (yattai, bars & restaurants, etc.) and it's quite a bit more fun than Hiroshima...in my opinion, of course. I had the most relaxing part of my 2006 southern Japan trip in Hiroshima, but I was a little bored, too.

Fukuoka Travel Guide - http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2161.html

FWIW, Hiroshima is not Southern Japan.

It's about one degree of latitude further South than Nagoya. (Roughly the same difference in latitude as between New York and Philadelphia).