Hiroshima

Dynamic and compelling, Hiroshima defies expectation.

The cosmopolitan capital of the Chugoku Region, Hiroshima has grown from a
harrowing symbol of destruction to a thriving example of Japanese ingenuity and
optimism. After the world’s first atomic bomb was dropped in 1945, Hiroshima’s
citizens defied expectations and managed to rebuild their city into what it is today; a
vibrant, dynamic and compelling place to
visit.

The Peace Memorial Park is a symbol of

hope at the heart of the city.

In the center of the city, the large Peace

Memorial Park stands as a moving
testament to the events of WWII. The
Peace Memorial Museum is made up of
two buildings with exhibitions outlining the city’s history and the aftermath of the
atomic bomb destruction. Nearby stands the UNESCO World Heritage A-Bomb
dome, the shell remains of the former Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall which
was directly underneath the bomb blast. The Cenotaph for the A-Bomb victims is a
memorial tomb for the 220,000
people that died as a result.

Head to Hiroshima-jo, also known as

‘Carp Castle’.

Most people combine a visit to

Hiroshima with a side trip to
Miyajima (less than one hour away)
to see the famous floating red torii
gate at Itsukushima shrine. With
more time in the city, the photogenic reconstruction of Hiroshima Castle houses an
interesting museum about the history of Western Japan, and offers a great view of the
city from the top floor.Get around the city with the historical ‘Hiroden’
streetcar.Nearby, the traditional Shukkeien gardens are a nice place to stroll around in
good weather, or you can head to Hijiyama park to visit the Museum of
Contemporary Art. If you’re into your cars, or manufacturing in general, the Mazda
Museum houses the world’s longest assembly line and has daily tours in
English.Hiroshima is famous for Hiroshima-yaki, the local version of Japanese
okonomiyaki (a savory egg pancake stuffed with vegetables and other ingredients) as
well as oysters and other seafood. You can work all that food off at a Hiroshima
Carps baseball game, joining in the chants and well-organised dancing at the official
stadium just north of the Peace Memorial Park.
Hiroshima Peace Bell
For those who seek peace from the storms of society, a bell rings with hope.

At first glance, this modest, gray-colored dome-shaped bell in the middle of the
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park doesn’t inspire, but the genius is in the details.
Completed in September of 1964 by bronze and metals artist Masahiko Katori, the
peace bell is intricately etched, and can only be appreciated if standing directly under
the bell. The dome covering the bell was intended, according to Katori, to represent
the universe.

The shell of the bell, on the outside, shows a map of a boundary-less world that would
have made John Lennon nod with approval. As you ring the bell, that haunting, broad
echo is one of a list of 100 hundred sounds that, since 1996, Japan has made a goal to
preserve.

Hiroshima

If you look closely, you’ll notice inside the bell a picture of the atomic symbol of energy—a
design meant to symbolize the eventual end of atomic weapons in the world. Around the
bell is a pond outlined with lotus flowers. These same lotus flowers were used to staunch
the bleeding of the victims on that fateful day of August 6th.

Masahiko Katori, who passed away in 1988, would have been pleased with the way
his bell has remained a focal point of the Hiroshima Peace Park for the last half-
century. Another bell of his can be found in San Diego, California, known as the
Yokohama Friendship Bell.

Here is an excerpt from the poem by Hiroshima Higan-No-Kai near this the Bell of
Peace:

“We dedicate this bell/ As a symbol of Hiroshima Aspiration: / Let all nuclear arms
and wars be gone, / And the nations live in true peace!”

Before you go

In case you’re wondering about expenses, the cost to walk around outside the
Hiroshima Peace Park and ring the bell is free.
Genbaku Dome (A-Bomb Dome)
In its resilience, it stands as a reminder of war’s devastation.

Often the first thing one sees when coming toward the Peace Park, the Genbaku
Dome was first completed by a Czech architect named Jan Letzel, who’d moved to
Japan from Prague in 1907. Letzel ended up working on over a dozen different
buildings across Japan.

He brought a Euro-centric approach to his work (Art Deco and Neo-Baroque) that
Japan had been looking for during that time. The September 1st, 1923 Kanto
earthquake caused Letzel to move back to his hometown, but he would soon pass
away in 1925, never to know how one of his designs would end up symbolizing
humanity’s destructive nature.

Chilling the longer one looks at it, the round-and-naked dome seems to have moved
past any sense of shame.

The effect of the dome is in its skeletal-like fragility. Chilling the longer one looks at
it, the round-and-naked dome seems to have moved past any sense of shame. It rests
on the last seconds of its own existence, its weight an afterthought to the rest of the
building. The middle core huffs stubbornly, as if it is has one last chest-puff of pride
to hold on. If it has a heartbeat, it’s there—beating softly despite its perilous
condition.

Originally called the Hiroshima Industrial Promotion Hall, Letzel’s creation opened to the
public on August 5th, 1915. Almost exactly thirty years later, the three-story building
withstood the largest above ground explosion in human history, up to that point in time. The
building held its ground all while standing a mere 160 meters from directly above the in-air
bomb blast. To put that in perspective, that’s 210 regular walking steps away.

Things To Know

For viewing only

Despite a few rogue filmmakers who have jumped the fence, the Genbaku Dome is a
UNESCO world heritage site, so the building cannot be touched.

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park

If there's one thing you see in Hiroshima, it should be this.

Located in downtown Hiroshima, the Peace Memorial Park is a place for

remembrance – commemorating the city and the nearly 140,000 victims lost to the
world’s first atomic bombing.

Easily accessible from Hiroshima Station on a 20-minute tram ride, the closest exit is
“Genbaku Dome-mae”— where the symbol of this memorial site becomes instantly
visible. The partially spared remains of the Genbaku Dome (more commonly known
as the A-bomb Dome) serve as a haunting reminder of the tragedy that unfolded on
August 6, 1945.

The A-bomb Dome is what remains of the

Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion
Hall, an art and exhibition space opened in
1915.

A designated UNESCO World Heritage site,

the ruins of the former Hiroshima Prefectural
Industrial Promotion Hall have been safeguarded as a bridge between the past and
present, illustrating the destructive impact of that moment and exhibiting a loud
warning message for the future.

A four-minute stroll from the Genbaku Dome lies the Children’s Peace Monument,
where a bronze statue of Sadako Sasaki is immortalized with outstretched arms. Also
called the Tower of a Thousand Cranes, the monument not only remembers the life of
Sadako – a 12-year-old girl who died of leukemia after radiation exposure – but also
the thousands of child victims of the
atomic bombing.

At the base of Sadako’s monument

you can read the words: Kore wa
bokura no sakebi desu. Kore wa
watashitachi no inori desu. Sekai ni
heiwa o kizuku tame no (This is our
cry, this is our prayer: for building
peace in the world).

Inspired by the legend of a thousand paper cranes (Senbazuru), Sadako was

determined to fold one thousand origami cranes, continuing to create these symbolic
birds until her death. To this day, people from all over the world bring hand-folded
paper cranes to be placed under the monument as a wish for peace.

Near the center of the park is a stone arch that covers a chest holding all the names of
bomb victims. This Memorial Cenotaph aligns perfectly with the Peace Flame and the
Genbaku Dome, while the design of the arch represents both a shelter for the souls
and recalls the ancient burial mounds of Japan.

Every August 6th, a peace memorial ceremony is held in front of the Memorial
Cenotaph to reflect on the lives lost through war and to pray for peace.

The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum provides a sobering insight into the events
leading up to the bombing as well as its brutal aftermath. Photos capture the before
and after while other exhibits display actual belongings from victims. On a positive
note, you can trace the chronology of Hiroshima’s reconstruction all the way to the
present-day – the vibrant, beautiful “City of Peace”.

Opening Hours

8:30 – 18:00 (until 19:00 August/until 17:00 December – March).

Itsukushima Shrine
See it in person.

Appearing as if floating on the Seto Inland Sea at high tide, the awe-inspiring O-Torii
(otherwise known as The Grand Torii Gate) is the iconic trademark that first
welcomes day-tripping pilgrims from Hiroshima to the sacred island of Miyajima. It’s
one of the country’s most iconic sights – you’ll definitely know it if you’ve ever
googled “Japan images” – and the whole complex of suspended red buildings is even
more captivating in real life.

The shrine is made up of several buildings,

built above the sea and connected by wooden
boardwalks.

Who and what was previously banned from

Itsukushima?

Regarded as one of the three most scenic spots

in Japan, Miyajima, whose name literally stands for Shrine Island, is synonymous with
Itsukushima Shrine – so much so that the names are basically interchangeable, and often
confused by visitors. Say either/or and people will know what you mean.

First founded in 593 A.D., the vermillion coated shrine pavilion was later enlarged to
its current dimensions in 1168 under Taira no Kiyomoro, a powerful warlord in the
late Heian Period. All credit for the grandeur of Itsukushima goes to this legendary
figure who commissioned the gate to be constructed in an architectural style catering
to aristocratic estates, known as shinden-zukuri.

The regional shrine rose to national prominence in the Heian Period as members of
the Imperial Court began worshipping the deities believed to reside at this sacred site.
There are rare performances of the ancient art of bugaku (classical court dance and
music) that were once enjoyed by the royals on their visits way back when.

If you’re lucky you might catch a traditional bugaku performance at the shrine,
usually held during commemorative events and festivals like New Years or the
Emperor’s birthday.
Another interesting feature is a Noh theater stage dating from 1509. As in Ancient
Greek plays, the stories enacted on stage draw inspiration from creation myths and
religion. Featuring the natural backdrop of the sea, the stage is the perfect
performance setting for an island where gods dwell.

Kintaikyo Bridge
Japan’s most elegant wooden bridge

The Kintaikyo Bridge (錦帯橋,

Kintaikyō) has been Iwakuni's most
distinguished landmark and a subject of
admiration for hundreds of years. The
elegant, wooden bridge makes five bold
arches onto massive stone pillars as it
crosses over the Nishiki River.

Plans for the Kintaikyo were first drawn up when strong currents had once again
destroyed a bridge crossing the Nishiki River. A more durable bridge was
commissioned by Kikkawa Hiroyoshi, the third feudal lord of Iwakuni, whose statue
stands at the entrance to nearby Kikko Park. After the bridge's completion in 1673, it
kept standing until 1950, when Iwakuni
was struck by a violent typhoon.

With the country still exhausted from the

war, the maintenance of cultural
properties suffered neglect. For this
reason, the bridge that had stood for
almost 300 years, collapsed as desperate
townspeople looked on and futilely tried
to divert the ferocious current. Shortly thereafter, determined residents began
constructing a precise reconstruction of their cherished bridge. It was completed in
1953.

Rare for a pedestrian bridge, visitors must pay a fee to walk across at a toll booth. The
booth is not manned during the night, and pedestrians crossing the bridge at night are
asked to deposit the fee into a toll box. The bridge is lit up during most of the year
until 22:00.

Iwakuni Castle
Reconstructed mountain top castle

Iwakuni Castle (岩国城, Iwakunijō) was built in 1608, at the beginning of the Edo
Period. The site of the castle was chosen for its natural defensive advantages on top of
Mount Shiroyama and half surrounded by a natural moat, the Nishiki River. The
castle keep is four stories high, and looks out onto the city 200 meters below.

Probably a source of considerable

frustration for those who built it, the
original castle lasted only slightly
longer than the time it took to construct
it. Being built over the course of five
years, the castle was torn down by
decree of the shogun a mere seven
years after its completion.

The present reconstruction dates from 1962, and has already outlasted the original
castle by a considerable factor. It is a ferro-concrete construction and inside displays
samurai swords, armor and other items related to the castle's history. There are also
displays on Kintaikyo Bridge and other famous bridges across Japan.

Kikko Park
Former site of the local lord’s residence

Statue of Kikkawa Hiroyoshi at the Entrance to

Kikko Park

After crossing the Kintaikyo Bridge, visitors are

greeted by the statue of the man who initiated the
bridge's construction, Kikkawa Hiroyoshi (1621-
1679), the third lord of Iwakuni. In the area behind the statue, there are a number of
sites of interest centered around Kikko Park (吉香公園, Kikkō Kōen), a spacious park
with walking paths, plants and fountains.

During the Edo Period (1603-1868), the residences of the ruling Kikkawa family were
located where Kikko Park now stands, and the retainers of the ruling family were
located nearby. Because of this, the area is now blessed with former samurai
residences and museums featuring historic artifacts.