Destinations

Hiroshima

“A poignant reminder of the barbarities of war and the resilience of the human spirit – Hiroshima is now a city brighter and more vibrant than ever”

Jocelyn Knightly Brown - Travel Consultant

Western Honshu’s largest city needs little introduction as the name of Hiroshima has become synonymous with the Atomic Bomb. For this reason alone, millions of visitors flock to the municipality every year to pay their respects at the Peace Park and Museum. On August 6, 1945, the city was obliterated by the devastating effects of the first atom bomb, wiping out almost instantly everything within a 2km radius. Immediately some 70,000 buildings were destroyed and by the end of the year, 140,000 people had become victim to its horrifying effects.

Nowadays, short of the remaining memorial of the A-Bomb Dome and the thousands of colourful peace cranes scattered across the city, you would be hard pushed to imagine the destruction once wrought. The modern town is a bustling and thriving community, with an international outlook not often found in Japan. The downtown area is filled with places to shop, eat, and otherwise enjoy oneself. You will find a vast amount of Okonomiyaki restaurants – a cabbage style pancake – as well as the famous oysters and maple-leaf-shaped pastry, considered the quintessential Hiroshima souvenir.

As well as the peace park, a visit to Hiroshima should include a stop at the castle and a stroll around the nearby Shukkei-en; compact and beautifully landscaped gardens that date back to the early 17th century. Adjacent to the garden is the impressive Museum of Art and if you’re in town when the home baseball team Toyo Carp are playing – it’s well worth trying to catch a game!

Proclaimed as a ‘City of Peace’, tourists are welcomed with open arms to this friendly cosmopolitan city and a visit to the Peace Memorial Park and Museum reminds us all of the atrocities of conflict. Under the Cenotaph Memorial Arch is a flame which it is said will not be extinguished until the last nuclear weapons are gone from the earth. The inscription in Japanese reads, "Rest in peace, for the error shall not be repeated".

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