Hiroshima

Hiroshima was founded in 1589 on the delta formed by the Ota River, flowing out to the Seto Inland Sea. It became a major industrial center and one of Japan's larger cities in the Meiji period. During World War II, when the first atomic bomb exploded over Hiroshima on 6 Aug 1945 the city became an immediate symbol for the horrors of war. Today Hiroshima (pop. 1 086 000) has several moving reminders of that day of utter devastation.
Hiroshima (広島) is an industrial city of wide boulevards, criss-crossing rivers and a dense city center. It is located along the coast of the Seto Inland Sea in the western Chugoku region of Japan. Although many only know it for the horrific split second on August 6, 1945, when it became the site of the world's first atomic bomb attack, it is now a modern, cosmopolitan city with a lot of great food and nightlife.

Sightseeing:

Atomic bombing:
The following memorials related to the bombing are all clustered in Peace Memorial Park (平和公園 Heiwa-kōen), reachable by tram line 2 or 6 to Genbaku Domu-mae. Coming from JR Hiroshima Station, you'll see the Peace Park on your left and the baseball stadium on your right, just before crossing the Aioi Bridge - which was thought to be the target of the atomic bomb.
The International Exchange Office: near the center of the Peace Park can provide English-language information about any of the many statues and memorials that are dotted throughout the park.

• Hiroshima Peace Memorial. Better known as the A-Bomb Dome (原爆ドーム Genbaku Dōmu) is Hiroshima's best-known symbol. Formerly the Prefectural Industrial Promotional Hall, it was designed by Czech architect Jan Letzel and completed in 1915. The fanciful green dome in particular made the building a much-loved symbol in Hiroshima before the war. When the atomic bomb was dropped on August 6, 1945, the explosion is thought to have taken place almost directly above the building. Its skeletal remains were among the few buildings left standing in the entire city. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1996 amid some controversy - the United States and China both voted against the nomination for reasons related to the war, and some Japanese continue to find it a disturbing sight. It has become a symbol of the city once again, though, and the benches around the building are as likely to be occupied by Hiroshima natives reading, eating lunch or simply relaxing as they are by tourists.
• Peace Memorial Museum (平和記念資料館 Heiwa Kinen Shiryōkan) (March - Nov. 8:30am to 6pm, Dec. - Feb. to 5pm, Aug. to 7pm. Closed 12/29 - 1/1). This heart-wrenching museum documents the bomb and its aftermath, complete with scale models of "before" and "after", melted children's tricycles and a harrowing recreation of a post-blast Hiroshima street. The first floor describes the events leading up to the bomb and attempts to give a sense of what Hiroshima was like before the war. The second floor contains a number of displays and artifacts related to the day of the bombing. Some of these are extremely graphic, evocative and - consequently - disturbing. The rest of the museum describes the post-war struggles of the hibakusha (bomb survivors) and the state of nuclear weapons in the world today. Entry costs a token ￥50, and audio guides are available for an additional donation. Be warned: a visit here, while by all means worthwhile, will ruin your day. Allow plenty of time afterward to decompress. Shukkeien (below) is a good destination for that purpose.
• The Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims is a saddle-shaped concrete memorial containing the names of persons who died from the bombing, "regardless of nationality". Under the arch is a flame which, it is said, will not be extinguished until the last nuclear weapons are gone from the earth. Beyond the cenotaph is a pond leading toward the A-Bomb Dome.
• Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims.Next to the Cenotaph, this museum is dedicated collecting names and photographs of people who died in the blast. The entrance of the museum 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).
• Statue of the A-Bomb Children. Perennially draped in thousands and thousands of origami paper cranes, folded by schoolchildren across Japan in memory of bomb victim Sadako Sasaki. Dying of leukemia in 1954, she was told an old folk tale according to which anybody who folds over 1000 cranes will have her wish come true; she managed 642 before her death in 1955 at the age of twelve.

Gardens and castles:

• Shukkeien (縮景園). While not officially one of Japan's Top 3, this is a compact and beautifully landscaped Japanese garden well worth a visit. Despite more and more high-rises peeping over the trees recently, it can feel like an entirely different world. Little paths crossing ponds on bridges and winding their way around graceful teahouses and waterfalls. Open daily 9 AM to 6 PM, entry ￥250. Get there on tram line 9, stop Shukkeien-mae. It's behind the Prefectural Art Museum, and combined admission tickets are available. The garden is especially pretty in spring when the cherry blossoms are in bloom, in the fall with the Koyo, vibrant colors of the fall leaves, and in winter when the park is covered in a light dusting of snow.
• Hiroshima Castle (広島城 Hiroshima-Rijō). The castle is a fun place to walk around or jog around- there is a 1.5km running path that circles the castle grounds outside the moat. There is a small kids playpark on one side and its a nice place to sit and relax for a while. Kids have fun spotting the fish that swim in the moat as well as turtles. It's just across the street from Chuo Park. The grounds of the castle and the banks of the moat are great places to view the 350 or so cherry trees that come into bloom in early April. The castle museum is a ferroconcrete reconstruction of the 16th century, 5-story Donjon, and well worth a look if you are interested in a bit of culture. There are amazing relics and armor to see (and try on!) as well as informative displays about the history of the castle and the city. The view from the top is worth the entrance fee all by itself.

The castle grounds also house a monument to Chinese workers killed by the atomic bomb, which was not allowed into the Memorial Park for political reasons.

• Hijiyama-koen is a huge park to the south of JR Hiroshima Station, between two branches of the river. (Follow Ekimae-dori from the station to the southeast and you'll walk directly into it.) There are the usual areas for sitting in the sun (and rather a lot of stray cats), but much of the park remains refreshingly undeveloped forest land. The Museum of Contemporary Art and the Manga Museum are within the grounds of the park, as is a futuristic long tunnel / escalator to the SATY grocery store / shopping mall / movie theater. One of the very few remaining structures from before the atomic bomb is also on the outskirts of the park. Walk up toward the park on the street branching off from the Hijiyamashita tram stop. You'll see a temple on your left. Just past the temple is a set of stone steps heading back toward the tram stop. At the top of the steps is a small house and an explanatory plaque. (Notice the vane at the top of the house, warped from the heat of the bomb.) Please note that while visitors are welcome in the front yard, the rest of the area is private property, including the house itself.

Other museums:

• The Hiroshima Museum of Art was established by the Hiroshima Bank in 1978. The permanent collection covers European art from late Romanticism to early Picasso, including a couple of Japanese painters who painted in Western styles. It's a ruthlessly stratified selection: at least one painting by every Famous Artist of the period, but no major works by any of them. It's on the other side of Jonan-dori from Hiroshima Castle. Take tram lines 1, 2 or 6 to Kamiya-cho (a big intersection just before the Peace Park) and walk two minutes north. It's included in the route of the sightseeing buses that leave from JR Hiroshima Station.
• The Hiroshima Prefectural Museum of Art (2-22 Kaminobori-cho, Naka-ku, Tel. 082-221-6246. Open 9am - 5pm, until 7pm on Saturday, closed Sunday and 12/25 - 1/1. Admission ￥500, ￥300 for college students, children free) has a good permanent collection of modern European art, including major works by Dali and Magritte, and a a few modern Japanese artists as well. Special exhibitions are of a generally high quality, ranging from Persian carpets to The Legend of Ultraman. It's located in front of Shukkeien, east of Hiroshima Castle, a couple blocks north of Jonan-dori and Hakushima-dori.
• The Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art (1-1 Hijiyama-Koen, Minami-Ku, Tel. 082-264-1121. Open 10am - 5pm, closed Mondays, national holidays, Tuesdays after national holidays that fall on a Monday, August 6th, and 12/29 - 1/3. Admission ￥360 for adults, ￥270 for college students and ￥170 for other students; free November 3rd) is probably the most worthy of a visit among Hiroshima's three art museums. There are a few famous Western names in its collection, including Andy Warhol and Frank Stella, but the real emphasis is on interesting modern Japanese artists working in their own styles, and the exhibition designers make creative use of the museum space. Special exhibitions cost extra. There is a sculpture garden outside that can be visited for free, and a decent city-view from the plaza near the museum's front steps. (Head past the giant sloping gate-sculpture.) See the directions to Hijiyama-koen above.
• The Manga Library / Museum is around the corner from the Museum of Contemporary Art.
• Mazda Museum (Mukainada-cho Shinchi 3-1, Tel. 082-252-5050) Mazda's corporate headquarters are a short distance outside of Hiroshima. They offer free tours every weekday at 9:30am and 1:00pm in Japanese, and 1:00pm in English. The tour is a must for any automobile fan. Space is limited, and they ask that you call first to make a reservation. If you have any serious technical questions then you should go on the Japanese tour and bring along your own interpreter. The English tour guides are not very knowledgeable. The tour will begin with a historical view of the Mazda Company from its early days making three-wheeled trucks and cork, to the present day Renesis Wankel Rotary Engine. Highlights include the Mazda Cosmos (the world's first Rotary Engine car) and the 4-Rotor Mazda 787B, which is the only Japanese car to win at Le Mans. From there you will be taken to see how the design and build process works at their Ujina plant, and you will be taken onto the actual assembly line to see the latest Mazda vehicles being made. The tour concludes with a view of Mazda's attempts to make Hydrogen fueled cars and some of their concept vehicles. Take the San-yo line two stops east to JR Mukainada, head two blocks south, turn right and cross the street.
• Hiroshima's Transportation Museum. Located on the outskirts of the city, the transportation museum has many exhibits and interactive games. Outside, behind the museum, they have a track with many different, odd, funny and interesting kinds of bicycles to ride. It's great fun for children.
• Hiroshima Children's Museum and Library. Also a must-see for kids, with a planetarium on the top floor and full of fun scientific games for kids to play and learn from.

Things to do:

• Hiroshima Family Pool. Open from July 1st-August 31st every year, this huge open-air pool is a popular place for kids and families to beat the heat. It becomes an ice-skating rink in the winter. Skates are available for rental, although they're pretty beat-up.

Hiroshima Carp Professional Baseball. Hiroshima's entry in Japanese professional baseball, the much-beloved and bemoaned Carp play in a stadium across the street from the Peace Memorial Park. A new stadium is being built outside the city center for use in a couple seasons. While the team doesn't win much, the enthusiasm of the fans can hardly be faulted, and Hiroshima is as good a place as any to witness the fervor of Japanese baseball fandom. Get a seat in the bleachers, though, ideally on the right-field side - that's where the drums, chants and excitement are. (The reserved seats are oddly tame by comparison, and the left-field bleachers put you close to the area set aside for the fans of the visiting team.) Bleacher seats are ￥1500 and can usually be bought on the day of the game.