Peace Park

Peace Memorial Park is the center of Hiroshima in many ways. It is the focus point for many tourists who visit Hiroshima- one of the "must-see" stops whether due to a sense of curiosity to see what the destruction of the world's most famous bomb did or for other reasons. Most tourist view the a-bomb dome and the exhibits in the museum, ring the bell of peace and view the many paper cranes and statues around the park.

Visitors to the park significantly increase in summer around the memorial ceremony (August 6). The official ceremony is held at the same time that the bomb hit Hiroshima at 8:15 in 1945- thus making this year the 60th memorial ceremony- it is sure to be a huge media event.
In the evening, there is a beautiful lantern ceremony as people make and lay their lanterns on the motoyasu river that flows through the park. Children decorated candles can also be seen around the a-bomb dome making the whole place seem quite magical.
There is usually a gathering of Hiroshima local DJs and musicians who hold a party nearby after the lantern ceremony finishes to offer people a chance to be together in celebration of life. Check out the event section for details.

But the peace park is also a living part of Hiroshima for many people who enjoy it in other ways rather unconnected to peace. A Japanese friend who grew up in Hiroshima says that as a child he and friends used to play in the rubble of the a-bomb dome and run around and enjoy the park as a whole. He now enjoys running through the park on his training runs, but says that now he sometimes get diapproving looks from "peace oriented" visitors as he runs through chatting with friends, but feels confident enough that enjoying the park in this way is valid too.

A lot of Hiroshima young people use the park, and bridge area especially, as a meeting point to sit and talk with friends next to the river. Young musicians seem to like the acoustics under the bridge as you can hear them playing and singing there in the evenings.

During Hanami (cherry blossom) season the park is packed with groups drinking and partying under the trees from midday carrying on late into the night. It is quite a lively park during this time of year.

Most days, you can also find elderly gentlemen playing chess under the shady trees enjoying a bit of mental competition. Also, from the early hours of the morning the park is buzzing with locals chatting and doing their morning walks and stretching exercises.

It is a beautiful park in many ways and its charm is that it is so useful to so many people in many different ways, it is not only about remembering peace and tragedy, but it is also a fun meeting place, a place to rest and hang out with friends and a place to exercise. Thank god it is protected by being a world heritage sight, Peace park is a beautiful and wonderful thing to have in the center of the city.

"Museum- shocking, but an important reminder of atomic power"
mami - Mon Jun 2006
Peace Memorial Museum is located at the heart of Hiroshima city, so you can go there easily.There are so many kinds of displays. For example, pictures, models, the hibakusha people’s stuff who were affected by the blast, and so on. I think many people who see it are shocked, because the displays are too real. I’ve been to the Museum twice and I was so shocked to look at the hibakusha’s model. It hardly looks human, but It’s a good way to learn about the effect of the atomic bomb. For foreign visitors, there is an audio guide in many different languages. I hope that more and more people including foreigners go there and learn about the danger of using an atomic bomb.