ArticleHiroshima, Chugoku, Japan7 min read
Visiting Hiroshima's Peace Memorial
How to spend a thoughtful day in a city that chose hope
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5.02 reviews
The Atomic Bomb Dome, the Peace Memorial Museum and a city that rebuilt itself around a message. Advice for visiting with care and leaving with something more than photographs.
The dome by the river
At 8:15 on 6 August 1945, an atomic bomb exploded almost directly above the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall. The building's steel dome and broken walls survived when almost everything around it did not, and today the Genbaku Dome stands on the bank of the Motoyasu River exactly as it was left, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the city's most solemn landmark.
Across the river, Peace Memorial Park fills the delta that was once the city's busiest district. Walk it slowly, from the dome to the Children's Peace Monument with its thousands of paper cranes, then along the axis to the cenotaph, which frames the dome through its arch.
At the far end, the Peace Flame has burned since 1964 and will be put out only when the last nuclear weapon on Earth is gone.
Let all the souls here rest in peace, for we shall not repeat the evil.Inscription on the Memorial Cenotaph
Planning your visit
Give the Peace Memorial Museum at least two hours. Its exhibits are personal rather than political: a child's tricycle, a scorched lunch box, the shadow of a person left on stone steps. It is hard viewing and worth every minute. Book a timed ticket online in spring and summer, and visit before ten if you can.
Then let the city show you its other face. Hiroshima is young, green and generous, with tram lines, riverside cafes and the most loyal baseball fans in Japan. End the day at an okonomiyaki counter in Okonomimura, where Hiroshima-style pancakes are layered rather than mixed and come piled with noodles. In winter, ask for one topped with local oysters, and sit at the counter so you can watch the cook build it layer by layer.
Peace Memorial Park
About this story
Saki SakuraAuthor
Sakura JourneysPublisher
Reviews
Write a reviewAverage rating 5.0 out of 5
2 reviews- CMCarlos Mendoza5 out of 5 stars5 Oct
Thoughtful, precise and full of small details, like which station exit to use. Brilliant.
- MCMei Lin Chen5 out of 5 stars28 Apr
Every food recommendation was a hit, and the etiquette notes meant we never felt lost ordering.
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