Hello!! I’m back with last part of my travel in Hiroshima this spring. I stayed in a hotel near the tram-station Hatchobori. It is really close to the city center, so at my 2nd say I decided to just stroll around the city. My first destination was the Peace Memorial Park because it’s only 20-minutes walking distance from the hotel. I really don’t remember the name of the hotel I’m staying, but it’s a pretty decent hotel.
(PS: I’m not kidding, but I get goosebumps as I write this blog post)
Peace Boulevard
Peace memorial park (平和記念公園) is one of the famous location in Hiroshima. The park is really big and I’m sure you can find it easily, even when you’re not looking for it. It also keeps the history of the nuclear bombing in 1945 and its devastating effect.
The nearest train station is Genbaku-dome mae (原爆ドーム前). I chose to walk from my hotel to the park following the Promenade of Peace because the scenery is really pretty and there’re a lot of history alongside the road. You can find some buildings’ history and monuments that tell the story of the city prior to the bombing.
If you interested following the Promenade of Peace, you can follow this route from Hiroshima Station:
広島駅～京橋川左岸～平和大通り～平和記念公園
(Hiroshima Station – Kyobashi River Left Bank – Peace Boulevard – Peace Memorial Park)
Peace Memorial Park
Before the bomb, this park used to be the center of political and commercial at that era. I think that’s why they bombed this place.
There are 2 facilities in the park, first is the Peace Memorial Museum which keeps the records and remains of the bombing. The admission fee to the Museum is really cheap (50yen for adults) and I think people should just come there so they’ll know how dangerous the nuclear weapon is. The displays inside the museum might a little bit upsetting and depressing 🙁
Next to the museum, there is an arched tomb for those who died during the bombing. Under the arched-structure, there are more than 220.000 names. Every year, 6th August, people hold a ceremony here and lay flower in the Cenotaph.
Children’s Peace Monument (原爆の子の像
This statue is based on the story of Sadako Sasaki who died because of Leukimia from the bombing radiation. This statue is also dedicated for all children who died during the bombing.
You can see a lot paper cranes along the statue because she believed that her illness can be cured if she folded 1000 paper cranes. Now children from all over Japan fold and send paper cranes to this statue. And this is written at the base of the statue:
これはぼくらの叫びです これは私たちの祈りです 世界に平和をきずくための
“This is our cry, this is our prayer: for building peace in the world”.
A-bomb Dome
A-bomb Dome is the other facility in this park. Before the bomb, this dome served as the Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall.
The building was so close to the bomb epicenter and because of that, the structure remains intact. You can see a lot of people gather around the dome because there’re some testimony from a Japanese man. He is one of the survivor family and he wrote all the details of the bomb (including photo of the victims and the bomb effect). The testimony is translated to several languages. Make sure you read it.
Despite of some controversies of this building (some wants it to be demolished, some wants it to be preserved), the reconstruction of Hiroshima started and this building was preserved.
At December 1996, the A-Bomb Dome was listed as UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Even though the story behind this place is really devastating, the scenery around this place is really pretty during the cherry blossom season. A lot of people gather and have hanami alongside the river.
(I opted for Sakura Gelato lol)
And.. oh! If you read my previous post of Miyajima, I wrote about the boat to Miyajima from Peace Park, right?
Again, let me remind you, this boat cost more (price and time) and the departure date is not that frequent. Please check the schedule before you decide.
Hiroshima Castle
From the Peace Memorial Park, I walked to Hiroshima Castle (another 20 minutes walk). I chose walk because the weather was so good and the scenery too. But if you want to avoid walk, the nearest station is Kamiyacho-Nishi or Kamiyacho-Higashi. It’s 10-minutes walk from the station.
Unlike most castles, this castle is at the center of city (instead of on top of mountain). The castle is surrounded by moat.
Actually this castle is a reconstructed castle because the original castle was destroyed during the bombing. There’re 5 floors and in each floor you can enjoy the history and how people lived during the Samurai Era.
You can also enjoy the panoramic scenery from the top-most floor. However, if you want to go inside the castle building you’ll need to pay 370yen. The castle ground is free of charge. This castle only opens from 9AM to 6PM (or 5PM or 7PM depends on season).
After all the walking thingy, we went back to the hotel to pick our luggage and head back to Hiroshima station. There we had Hiroshimayaki for late lunch.
Hiroshimayaki is similar to Okonomiyaki, but they use a lot of veggies and noodle for the base. This food is the specialty of Hiroshima and you need to try one if you go visit Hiroshima.
tl;dr
And that ends my travel in Hiroshima. I hope you enjoy my post. By all means, all those places are worth-visited. It’s located in the center of the city, easy access, and won’t cost you anything. You can also learn about the history of Hiroshima and the bombing.
I’d recommend to visit during spring or summer if you want to attend the ceremony in the park as well.
That’s all and see you at the next post! Your comments are always loved <3