Japan Guide
Western Honshū
Peace Memorial Museum
The Peace Memorial Museum, or Heiwa kinen-shiryōkan deserves to be seen by every visitor to Hiroshima; it presents a balanced picture of why the atrocity took place, as well as of its harrowing effects. The newer displays in the east building revolve around two models of the city before and after the explosion, and explain the lead up to the bombing, including Japan's militarism. A watch in one case is forever frozen at 8.15am. There's a video theatre showing two short documentary films in English; in one a doctor's voice breaks as he recalls his realization that vast numbers of childhood leukaemia cases were caused by radiation.
On the third floor, after displays on the nuclear age post-Hiroshima, a connecting corridor leads to the old museum in the west building. You can rent a taped commentary (¥300) in one of sixteen different languages – worth doing, although the appalling injuries shown in photographs and recreated by models need no translation. This is strong stuff, which shirks none of the horror of the bomb's aftermath. At the end, you'll walk along a corridor overlooking the Peace Park and the resurrected city, providing a chance for contemplation on the bomb that wiped it all out over half a century ago. Opening time: Daily: March– July & Sept– Nov 8.30am–6pm; Aug 8.30am–7pm; Jan– Feb & Dec 9am–5pmPrice: ¥50