Walking Through Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and the Atomic Bomb Dome

This walking route takes you through Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, nestled between the Motoyasu River and the Honkawa River. Starting at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and walking north, you will pass the Memorial Cenotaph for the Atomic Bomb Victims and the Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims before crossing the river toward the Atomic Bomb Dome. Finally, you will ascend the adjacent Orizuru Tower to look out over the area you have walked.

History and Local Appeal

The area where the park stands was once a bustling commercial district known as the Nakajima district, but it was lost in an instant due to the atomic bomb on August 6, 1945. The atomic bomb detonated in the sky roughly 160 meters southeast of the Atomic Bomb Dome. After the war, this land was designated to be developed into a park commemorating peace, designed by a group led by Tange Kenzo, and completed in 1954. The park is designed along a single central axis leading from Peace Boulevard to the Atomic Bomb Dome, aligning the museum's main building, the Memorial Cenotaph for the Atomic Bomb Victims, and the Atomic Bomb Dome across the river on a single line. The World Heritage-listed Atomic Bomb Dome is positioned as a common monument to peace for all humankind, conveying the devastation of the first nuclear weapon used in human history.

Key Highlights

• ​Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum​​: Opened in 1955, this museum conveys the realities of the atomic bombing. The main building, designed by Tange Kenzo, was the first postwar structure designated as a National Important Cultural Property. Through personal belongings and photographs, the "Realities of the Atomic Bombing" exhibition in the main building shows how the atomic bomb robbed individuals of their lives and everyday existence.
• ​Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park​​: The park features numerous monuments, including the Memorial Cenotaph for the Atomic Bomb Victims inscribed with "Let all the souls here rest in peace, for we shall not repeat the evil," the Peace Flame that has burned continuously since 1964, and the Children's Peace Monument erected following calls from classmates of Sasaki Sadako.
• ​Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims​​: Descending a spiral slope brings you to the Hall of Remembrance on the second basement floor. A 360-degree panorama of the post-bombing landscape is represented by approximately 140,000 tiles, a number equal to the estimated deaths by the end of 1945.
• ​Atomic Bomb Dome​​: Completed in 1915 (the 4th year of the Taisho era) as the Hiroshima Prefectural Commercial Exhibition Hall, this building has been preserved almost exactly as it stood after being bombed. It was registered as a World Heritage site in 1996 (the 8th year of the Heisei era). As you cannot go inside, viewing is done from outside the fence.
• ​Orizuru Tower​​: Opened in 2016 next to the Atomic Bomb Dome, this facility features the rooftop observation deck "Hiroshima Hills," looking down upon the Atomic Bomb Dome and Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. On the 12th floor, visitors can fold a crane using dedicated paper and drop it into the "Orizuru Wall."

Recommended Route & Estimated Time

The estimated time required is about 4 to 5 hours. The museum exhibition leads from the East Building into the Main Building, and then returns to the East Building. As the content is heavy and can be emotionally taxing, allow plenty of time for your visit. Exiting the museum and walking north for about 200 meters, standing before the cenotaph allows you to look through the arch toward the Peace Flame and beyond across the river to the Atomic Bomb Dome along a single line. After visiting monuments such as the Children's Peace Monument, head to the memorial hall located near the cenotaph. From there, walk north for about 260 meters to view the entire Atomic Bomb Dome from the opposite bank of the Motoyasu River before crossing over to the Atomic Bomb Dome. Finally, walk about 110 meters east to Orizuru Tower. Ascending the walking slope to the rooftop offers an expansive view of the route you have traversed. The "Genbaku-Dome-mae" stop of the Hiroshima Electric Railway is just a short walk from Orizuru Tower.

Experience Summary

Confront the reality of the atomic bombing at the museum, offer prayers at the cenotaph, mourn the victims at the memorial hall, and gaze up at the preserved Atomic Bomb Dome. Looking out over the park and the city from the rooftop at the end allows you to sense how wishes for peace have been layered upon a city lost in an instant. Please walk quietly, bearing in mind that this is a place of prayer.