Top Attraction To Visit In Hiroshima For First Timers

 

The Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Genbaku Dome) was the only structure left standing in the area where the first atomic bomb exploded on 6 August 1945.

 
 

PEACE MEMORIAL PARK

Remembering the drop of the atomic bomb

Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park is one of the most prominent features of the city. Even visitors not looking for it will likely stumble upon the large park of over 120,000 square meters.

The park's main facility is the Peace Memorial Museum. Consisting of two buildings, the museum surveys the history of Hiroshima and the advent of the nuclear bomb. Its main focus though is on the events of August 6: the dropping of the bomb and its outcome in human suffering. The personal details displayed are quite upsetting and serve to remind that we should not take peace for granted.

A-BOMB DOME

The A-Bomb Dome, also known as the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, is what remains of the former Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall. The building served as a location to promote Hiroshima's industries. When the bomb exploded, it was one of the few buildings to remain standing, and remains so today. The building is 530 feet from the hypocenter of the bomb. The damaged brick walls and dome’s steel frame remain and are the only remnants left from the day the bomb was dropped. A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996, the A-Bomb Dome is a tangible link to Hiroshima's unique past.

Between the Museum and the A-Bomb Dome is the Cenotaph for the A-Bomb Victims. The Cenotaph is an arched tomb for those who died because of the bomb, either because of the initial blast or exposure to radiation. Below the arch is a stone chest holding a register of these names, of which there are over 220,000.

Every year on the anniversary of the bomb, a ceremony is held at the park. Speeches are made, wreathes are laid at the Cenotaph, and a moment of silence is observed at 8:15 am, the precise moment of detonation. Other activities occur throughout the day, and many staff are employed to help foreign visitors.

 
 
 

CHILDREN’S PEACE MONUMENT

Another monument to children is the first monument you’ll see after crossing the Motoyasu-bashi Bridge. The Children’s Peace Monument pays homage to the young victims of the bombing with a sculpture of Sadako Sasaki holding a metal crane as she stands atop a giant concrete bell. Sasaki folded origami cranes while battling leukemia that resulted from radiation exposure. She hoped to fold 1,000 cranes and be granted a wish. She died at age 12.

Today, display cases overflow with vibrant origami cranes made by children all over the world.

 
 
 

Children’s Peace Monument.

 

THEA PEACE BELL

While more subdued than Genbaku Dome and the Children’s Peace Monument, the Peace Bell is full of symbolism. A group of bombing survivors built the bell in 1964 to promote a world without nuclear weapons and war. The bell itself is embossed with a world map without any borders at all.


CENOTAPH FOR A-BOMB VICTIMS

Several memorials occupy the center of the park — the Flame of Peace, the Pond of Peace, and the Cenotaph. Designed in 1952 by Kenzo Tange, the architect who designed the park, the simple concrete and granite arch replicates the shape of an ancient Japanese clay house and protects the souls whose names are recorded in books stored here.

The cenotaph’s arch frames Genbaku Dome in the distance, with the peace flame and pond in the foreground. Its inscription reads, “Let all the souls here rest in peace, for we shall not repeat the evil.”

 

The Hiroshima Victims Memorial and the Flame of Peace with the Atomic Bomb Dome in the background.

 

HIROSHIMA NATIONAL PEACE MEMORIAL HALL

The newest of memorials in the park allows for quiet reflection in the Prayer Hall. A gently sloped walkway gives way to the area’s modest fountain surrounded by a 140,000-tile mural of Hiroshima’s cityscape with one tile for each victim of the bombing — whether they died immediately or later as a result of their injuries or the effects of radiation.

The Memorial Hall also displays victims’ names and photographs in the Victims’ Information Area. Exhibits include video testimonies from victims and excerpts from their memoirs read in both Japanese and English.

 

The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum gives a very good introduction and story of the bombing of Hiroshima in 1945. The displays included posters, pictures, models and artifacts.

 

HIROSHIMA PEACE MEMORIAL MUSEUM

The museum is thought-provoking, sobering, heartbreaking, but an absolute must-see. Everything that led up to the bombing and its aftermath is portrayed here. The unbiased displays run the gamut from photographs of the devastation to a charred lunch box and tricycle. With a focus on education and not repeating the mistakes of the past, exhibit placards are in Japanese and English.

 

HOURS AND FEES

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum

The Hiroshima Peace Memorial is a symbol representing the cost of war and the importance of peace

  • Seeing the structure exactly as it was after the bombing—the city has gone to great lengths to preserve it.

  • Every August 6th, joining the masses of people who gather around the park for the Peace Memorial Ceremony.

Hours

7:30 to 19:00 (until 20:00 in August, until 18:00 from December to February); admission ends 30 minutes before closing; advance reservations are required to visit the museum during the first hour of the day and during the last 90 minutes of the day. No reservations are required at other times of the day.

Closed

December 30 to 31

Admission

200 yen

 
 
 

The park's main facility is the Peace Memorial Museum. Consisting of two buildings, the museum surveys the history of Hiroshima and the advent of the nuclear bomb.

 
 
 

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO VISIT HIROSHIMA PEACE MEMORIAL PARK ?

2-3 hours If your time to visit the park is limited, make the museum a priority.

It really depends on how much time you spend at the Peace Memorial Park. It's possible to see the main highlights in 2-3 hours, or you could go more in-depth for 5-6 hours. If you do the latter, you can visit the Shukkeien Garden and eat some Okonomiyaki at the Hiroshima JR Station a few feet away from your shuttle drop off and pick -up.

For the rest of your day, I recommend a trip to Miyajima to see Itsukushima Shrine and its iconic torii gate. It’s easiest to reach the island via a 45-minute boat ride from the peace park.

 
 
Sample WTF blog