Stand on the Aioi Bridge and the city opens up in two directions at once: the skeletal dome ahead, the river below, and a rebuilt downtown behind you. Few places ask a traveller to hold a difficult past and an ordinary, working present in the same view.
Hiroshima suits travellers who want a destination with weight rather than only scenery. The memorial sites are concentrated and walkable, and the city itself is a functioning regional capital with trams, shops and riverside benches.
This guide covers the memorials of the Peace Memorial Park and the surrounding area, plus a small number of other places in the city. It is arranged so you can see the essential sites in a single day, or spread them over two.
Top things to do in Hiroshima
1. A-Bomb Dome
The skeletal remains of the dome are the most recognizable symbol of the atomic bombing in Hiroshima. The building was originally the Hiroshima Prefectural Commercial Exhibition Hall, designed by Czech architect Jan Letzel in 1915, with a bold European style and a green dome. Because the explosion took place almost directly above it, the walls remained largely intact even as the dome shattered.
The "Hiroshima Peace Memorial" was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1996. The benches around the Dome are a favourite spot for locals to read, eat lunch or simply relax, so it works as a place to sit as well as to look.
2. Peace Memorial Museum
This museum documents the atomic bomb and its aftermath, from scale models of the city before and after to melted tricycles and other artifacts related to the blast. Some displays are extremely graphic and quite disturbing. The rest of the museum describes the post-war struggles of the hibakusha and an appeal for the abolition of nuclear weapons.
Allow plenty of time afterward to decompress, as a visit here will affect the rest of your day. It is the one part of the Peace Memorial Park with an entry fee; there is also an audio guide available.
3. Cenotaph for the A-Bomb Victims
Inside the Cenotaph is a stone chest with a registry intended to contain the names of every known person who died from the bombing, regardless of nationality. Names are added as hibakusha pass away from diseases thought related to the radiation of the bomb. The Japanese inscription reads, "Let all the souls here rest in peace, for the evil shall not be repeated."
Note how the arch frames the A-Bomb Dome in the distance. It sits at one end of the pond, with the Flame of Peace at the other, so the two are naturally seen together.
4. Flame of Peace
At the other end of the pond from the Cenotaph is the Flame of Peace. It is said that the fire will burn until the last nuclear weapon is gone from the earth.
Pair it with the Cenotaph in a single slow walk along the pond, and look back through the arch toward the Dome.
5. Children's Peace Monument
The monument is perennially draped in thousands of origami paper cranes folded by schoolchildren across Japan in memory of the young bomb victim Sadako Sasaki. You can bring your own origami cranes and donate them to the memorial.
If you have folded cranes before arriving, this is the place to leave them. It is one of the most visited points in the park, so come earlier in the day if you want a quiet moment.
6. Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims
The Peace Memorial Hall is dedicated to collecting names and photographs of people who died in the blast. The entrance leads downward to a quiet hall for contemplation, and then back up again to a set of kiosks with compelling stories and recollections from survivors, in English and Japanese.
Like the Cenotaph and the Peace Memorial Museum, it was designed by architect Kenzo Tange. Entry is free, and it makes a good pause between the museum and the rest of the park.
7. Atomic Bomb Memorial Mound
The mound holds the ashes of 70,000 bomb victims who were unidentified or had no living relatives to claim them. Services are held in their memory on the 6th of every month.
It is a quiet stop rather than a display, so give it a few minutes without rushing on to the next memorial.
8. Memorial Tower to the Mobilized Students
The tower commemorates the 6,300 students who were conscripted to work in munitions factories and killed by the atomic bomb. There are statues of doves scattered throughout its five levels, and at the base is a Kannon statue, always draped with origami cranes.
Look up through the levels rather than only at the base, as the doves are easy to miss from ground level.
9. Monument in Memory of the Korean Victims of the A-Bomb
Tens of thousands of forced labourers from Korea were working in Hiroshima at the time of the attack. The monument was erected outside the Peace Park in 1970 and only moved within its boundaries in 1999. Today, the turtle at its base, symbolically carrying the dead to the afterlife, tends to be draped in origami cranes and flowers.
It is one of several memorials in the park that widen the story beyond a single national narrative, and it is easily combined with the other monuments along the same walk.
10. Peace Bell
The bell is engraved with a world map, drawn without borders to symbolize unity. The public are welcomed to ring it, and the log is aimed to strike an atomic symbol.
Ring the bell gently, so as not to damage it. It is a short stop, best folded into your walk between the other memorials.
11. Rest House
The Rest House was known as the Taishoya Kimono Shop at the time of the explosion. Only one employee, who was in the basement at the time, survived, though the reinforced concrete building stayed mostly intact. The interior has been entirely refurbished, but it is possible to visit the preserved basement with an advance request.
Today it holds a gift shop, vending machines, a helpful tourist information office and a place to rest, which makes it a practical stop midway through the park.
12. Hypocenter
One block east of the A-Bomb Dome, outside Shima Clinic, a plaque marks the exact point above which the bomb exploded.
As you explore the city and outskirts, keep an eye out for maroon-coloured marble historical markers such as the one outside the A-Bomb Dome or the one marking the Hypocenter, which have photographs and text in both Japanese and English.
13. Statue of Mother and Child in the Storm
Completed in 1960 by artist Shin Hongo, the statue is among the most powerful works of art created in response to the atomic bomb. It depicts a woman shielding her child from the black rain.
It stands in front of the Fountain of Prayer just south of the Peace Memorial Museum, so it fits naturally at the end of a museum visit.
14. Gates of Peace
The gates were installed in 2005 on Heiwa-o-dori, just south of the Peace Park, by a pair of French artists. On the sidewalk and the surface of the gates, the word "peace" is written in 49 languages. The ten gates are meant to represent the nine circles of hell from Dante's Inferno, plus a new one: the hell created by the atomic bombing.
They sit outside the park proper, so treat them as the last stop as you leave the memorial area rather than as part of the internal circuit.
15. Honkawa Elementary School Peace Museum
Of the more than 400 students and teachers who were in the school when the bomb exploded, only one student and one teacher survived. After a new school was built, this section of the original structure was kept as a museum, housing a small collection of photos and artifacts.
Entry is free and it is open during school hours, so plan it for a weekday rather than an evening. It is close to the Genbaku Dome-mae tram stop.
16. Fukuro-machi Elementary School Museum
Like Honkawa, part of the original school building that remained standing after the atomic bomb has been converted into a museum. In the days after the explosion, survivors used the school's chalk to leave messages for lost friends and family members on its blackened walls.
Entry is free and it is open daily, which makes it easier to fit in than the Honkawa museum. It is at the Fukuro-machi tram stop.
17. Former Bank of Japan
After the A-Bomb Dome, the former bank is the best-known pre-bomb structure in Hiroshima. Built in 1936, the city's main branch of the Nippon Ginko was only 380 m from the hypocenter; although its exterior remained intact, all 42 people inside the bank were killed by the heat of the blast. Remarkably, the bank was back in service only two days after the bomb and continued operation until 1992.
It is at the Fukuro-machi tram stop, so combine it with the Fukuro-machi Elementary School Museum in the same stop.
If you only have one day
Morning. Start at the A-Bomb Dome, then walk the short distance to the Hypocenter plaque one block east. Cross into the Peace Memorial Park and work through the Cenotaph for the A-Bomb Victims, the Flame of Peace and the Children's Peace Monument while the day is still cool.
Afternoon. Give the Peace Memorial Museum a long, unhurried block of time, then step outside to the Statue of Mother and Child in the Storm and the Fountain of Prayer. Use the Rest House for a break and the tourist information office inside it, then continue to the Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims, the Atomic Bomb Memorial Mound, the Memorial Tower to the Mobilized Students, the Monument in Memory of the Korean Victims of the A-Bomb and the Peace Bell.
Evening. Leave the park by way of the Gates of Peace on Heiwa-o-dori. If you still have energy, take the tram to Fukuro-machi for the Fukuro-machi Elementary School Museum and the Former Bank of Japan, then return to the benches around the A-Bomb Dome as the light goes.
Frequently asked questions
Is there an entry fee for the Peace Memorial Park?
No. There is no entry fee for the park, save for the Peace Memorial Museum, and access to the grounds is not restricted at night.
How do I reach the Peace Memorial Park?
Take tram line 2 or 6 to Genbaku Dome-mae. Coming from JR Hiroshima Station, you will see the Peace Park on your left just before crossing the T-shaped Aioi Bridge, which is thought to have been the target of the bomb.
Can I ring the Peace Bell?
Yes. The public are welcomed to ring the bell, which is engraved with a world map drawn without borders to symbolize unity. Ring it gently, so as not to damage it.
Are the smaller school museums free to visit?
Yes. Both the Honkawa Elementary School Peace Museum and the Fukuro-machi Elementary School Museum are free. Honkawa is open during school hours, while Fukuro-machi is open daily.
Decide how much time you want to give the Peace Memorial Museum, then build the rest of your days around it and start planning.