Find out everything you need to know about the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, its fascinating landmarks, and its enduring message of peace.
The world changed forever on August 6, 1945, when the first atomic bomb exploded over Hiroshima. However, this devastating moment in history has led the city to become a global icon for peace, with the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and its many landmarks documenting the disaster while advocating for the abolition of nuclear weapons.
As part of this development, the Atomic Dome – known locally as the Genbaku Dome – provides a striking centerpiece for the memorial as one of the few structures to survive the blast. Named the Hiroshima Prefectural Commercial Exhibition Hall before the war, these ruins are recognized around the world as a call for peace and a marker of hope.
A visit to this storied site alongside several other monuments throughout the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park ensures visitors get to know the city’s pacifist movement and its unequivocal anti-war message. Here, we delve into Hiroshima’s history, the Memorial Peace Park’s origins, and the illuminating landmarks on offer.
INDEX
A brief history of Hiroshima and its message to the world
The significance of the Atomic Dome
The origins of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park
What to do at the Hiroshima Park Peace Memorial
Dating back to the 12th century, a flourishing fishing village occupying modern-day Hiroshima enjoyed lucrative trade routes with many parts of Japan. However, it wasn’t until the 16th century that a powerful feudal lord called Mōri Terumoto founded Hiroshima by building the towering Hiroshima Castle in 1589.
While several feudal lords controlled the town for the next three hundred years, the historic Meiji Restoration of 1868 saw Hiroshima become part of Japan’s new imperial empire. As the country shifted rapidly from an agricultural economy to an industrialized one, Hiroshima served as a vital transportation and military hub with the construction of the Ujina Port.
Throughout the First Sino-Japanese War, the Russo-Japanese War, and World War I, the city’s economic prosperity grew alongside numerous military facilities. In fact, the Japanese government was temporarily run from Hiroshima Castle in 1894, while the city also played a critical strategic role during World War II.
After a nuclear blast destroyed Hiroshima, it fundamentally changed our understanding of war, with the city’s unwavering message for peace reminding the international community about the dangers posed by devastating weapons. Today, the rebuilt city is centered on the sprawling Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, where visitors can reflect on the significance of this historical event.
Before the bombing of Hiroshima, the Hiroshima Prefectural Commercial Exhibition Hall served as a local market and space for art exhibitions and cinema screenings along the banks of the Motoyasu River. Built in 1914 with a copper dome roof, the building was already considered a symbol for the city, thanks to its grand design and relative height compared to the surrounding residential neighborhood.
As the closest surviving building to the atomic blast, the nuclear bomb exploded approximately 600 meters above the dome. With the hall having an earthquake-proof design, this rigorous engineering saw the metal framework and some of the outer walls survive the explosion. However, the copper dome and inner structure were instantly obliterated, while the rest of the city was leveled seconds later.
As the city’s residents set about rebuilding the city following the blast's immediate aftermath, the building's survival earned it the Genbaku Dome moniker. Although some of its structure remained, the ruined building was initially set to be demolished. However, as plans grew to re-establish Hiroshima as a symbol of peace, the site’s incredible fortitude saw many locals argue it should form part of a new memorial.
During this time, Hiroshima’s post-war government sought advice from local and foreign consultants about how best to rebuild the city, with American city planner Tam Deling suggesting ground zero as a location for a new peace memorial. Soon after, in August 1949, the city announced an international design competition, with celebrated Japanese architect Kenzo Tange’s proposal selected as the winner of 145 entries.
Tange imagined a massive inner-city memorial stretching from the Atomic Dome in the northeast to Peace Boulevard in the south, featuring museums and monuments intertwined with tranquil nature encounters. After four years of construction, the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum opened in August 1955, with over 100,000 people visiting in its first year. As the museum exhibits expanded, this number grew to 500,000 by 1964.
Following renovations in the 1970s and 1990s, the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum offered enhanced exhibition spaces and technology. Now the permanent exhibition in the East Building is divided into four sections to explore Hiroshima before the war, the geopolitical circumstances around the atomic bombing, the city's commitment to peace, and the dangers of nuclear weapons, as told by local survivors.
The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park offers visitors numerous ways to engage with its crucial message. From beautiful public gardens to informative museum tours and the Atomic Dome, these varied spaces ensure you get to know Hiroshima’s fascinating history and legacy. Below, we explore a selection of landmarks and monuments spread throughout this serene space, which covers more than 120,000 square meters.
The Atomic Dome is perhaps the most iconic landmark within the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, renowned for its survival against all odds. While its ruins undoubtedly capture the incredible force of nuclear weapons and humankind’s capacity for destruction, it also serves as a testament to our strength and endurance.
Situated in a scenic spot along the Motoyasu River, pathways around the structure provide 360-degree views. Meanwhile, you can get a great glimpse of the Atomic Dome during sunset from up close or across the other side of the river. Designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996, the Genbaku Dome is an unmissable stop during your visit to Hiroshima.
• Address: 1-10 Otemachi, Naka-ku, Hiroshima City, Hiroshima 730-0051
• Operating Hours: Open 24 hours
• Contact Details: +81-82-242-7831
The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum offers a definitive collection of exhibits on the atomic bombing spanning this vast complex. Starting on the third floor in the East Building, visitors exploring the permanent exhibition are presented with four distinct sections dedicated to the history of Hiroshima and the dangers of nuclear weapons.
Featuring belongings from victims alongside historical photography and video footage, visitors can rent English audio guides to ensure they receive the full explanation of each exhibit. Meanwhile, the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum also frequently presents special exhibitions and events that discuss the bombing from different perspectives.
• Address: 1-2 Nakajimacho, Naka-ku, Hiroshima City, Hiroshima 730-0811
• Operating Hours: Daily from 8:30 AM to 6 PM
• Contact Details: +81-82-241-4004
• Cost: 200 yen
Although the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park is home to numerous landmarks and museums, simply wandering the grounds can bring you closer to the city’s legacy. Designed by Kenzo Tange, his modernist architectural style combines traditional Japanese aesthetics with certain aspects from the highly influential European designer Le Corbusier.
Together, this refined blend of functionality with sculptural expression makes contemplating Hiroshima’s peaceful message even more profound. To experience these grounds at their most impressive, the Peace Memorial Ceremony is held annually on August 6. Listen to inspiring speeches and see paper lanterns floating down the river with messages of peace.
• Address: 1-1-10 Nakajimacho, Naka-ku, Hiroshima City, Hiroshima 730-0811
• Operating Hours: Open 24 hours
• Contact Details: +81-82-504-2390
The park's memorials present the city's message from several viewpoints, including children. While the atomic blast killed about 135,000 people, the effects of radiation poisoning and other medical conditions caused many more deaths and illnesses. One of these victims was a young girl called Sadako Sasaki, who died from leukemia a decade after the explosion.
The Children’s Peace Monument commemorates her life and those of all the children who died in the atomic bombing. Before Sasaki’s death, she spent her last days folding more than a thousand paper cranes, which were believed to grant the creator a wish. On top of the monument, you can see Sasaki holding a crane above her head.
• Address: 1 Nakajimacho, Naka-ku, Hiroshima City, Hiroshima 730-0811
• Operating Hours: Open 24 hours
• Contact Details: +81-82-242-7831
Set at the center of the park is the Memorial Cenotaph – a curved concrete monument holding the names of all people killed by the atomic bomb. As one of the first monuments opened within the newly formed Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, this visually stunning shrine contains over 300,000 names, with more added every year.
If you decide to visit the Memorial Cenotaph, you’ll quickly notice that its design elegantly frames the nearby Flame of Peace and Atomic Dome. This helps unify various spaces within the park, while the monument’s arched design is said to shelter the souls of those who perished from the atomic bomb.
• Address: 1 Nakajimacho, Naka-ku, Hiroshima City, Hiroshima 730-0811
• Operating Hours: Open 24 hours
• Contact Details: +81-82-242-7831
One of the more recent additions to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park is the Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall. Designed by Kenzo Tange and opened in 2002, this impressive architectural space is dedicated to victims of the atomic bomb through the personal accounts of survivors sharing their message with future generations.
Alongside names and portraits, the library section presents memoirs, testimonial videos, and photographs that capture people's most intimate memories of the event. Here, you’ll also find a large-scale panoramic image depicting the city following the blast, plus the remembrance hall provides a space for quiet reflection.
• Address: 1-6 Nakajimacho, Naka-ku, Hiroshima City, Hiroshima 730-0811
• Operating Hours: Daily from 8:30 AM to 6 PM
• Contact Details: +81-82-543-6271
At the opposing end of the Pond of Peace near the Memorial Cenotaph, the Flame of Peace asks for the abolition of nuclear weapons. With the flame lit for the first time on August 1, 1964, it will burn continuously until all nuclear weapons have been destroyed.
Designed by Kenzo Tange, the Flame of Peace represents two wrists pressed together with palms pointed toward the sky. Meanwhile, the flame symbolizes the victim’s thirst for water following the destruction that swept across the city.
• Address: 1 Nakajimacho, Naka-ku, Hiroshima City, Hiroshima 730-0811
• Operating Hours: Open 24 hours
Reaching the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park is simple from Hiroshima Station. You can ride the Hiroden Streetcar Route 1 to Hondori Station. Then, it’s a four-minute walk to the Genbaku Dome and the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.
You can also ride the Hiroshima Dentetsu No.2 and the Hiroshima Dentetsu No.6 lines to Genbaku Dome-Mae Station. Then it’s a short three-minute walk across the bridge to reach the park’s northern entrance.
Hiroshima has become a global center for peace. Although several landmarks displayed throughout the Peace Memorial recount the area's somber history, the city’s overarching positive message is the perfect takeaway.
After you’ve explored the Genbaku Dome and the Peace Memorial, Hiroshima’s scenic landscape and vibrant culture provide countless activities that capture another side of the city. To plan your visit, make the most of the JAL Japan Explorer Pass and its special airfares to Hiroshima and 30 other domestic locations.
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