The memorial park is located between the Aioi Bridge, which was used as a target for the dropping of the atomic bomb, and the museum.

Before 1945, this area was the political and commercial centre of Hiroshima and was therefore a major target for bombing.

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The memorial park was built on the open field that the atomic bomb blast created. The architect of the park was Kenzō Tange.

Memorial Park

View of the A-Bomb Dome from the park

What to see in the park?

The park is now a popular resting place with beautiful views of the river and the A-Bomb Dome. You will find many memorials, a museum and educational halls.

Some of the main symbols of the park include these monuments.

Memorial Cenotaph

One of the main landmarks is a small rounded monument covering an empty tomb with the names of all 140,000 victims of the atomic bombing.

The tomb is located at the southern end of the Peace Pool, at the opposite end of which burns the Eternal Peace Flame.

Eternal fire

Kenotaf

Children's Monument

In the middle of the park stands a statue dedicated to the memory of all the children who died as a result of the Hiroshima bombing.

The main symbol is a statue of Sadako Sasaki, a girl with a paper crane who died of radiation sickness.

Before her death, Sadako Sasaki folded more than 1 000 paper cranes, birds that, according to Japanese legend, live for a thousand years.

Children's monument

Rest House

This house, along with the A-Bomb Dome, is one of the few buildings to survive the atomic bomb blast.

Located at the end of the Motoyasu Bridge, the entire house has been restored to its original form. Although it was almost entirely destroyed during the bombing, 47-year-old Eizo Nomura survived in the concrete basement and lived to the age of 80.

Even the radiation from the bomb did not penetrate the thick concrete walls.

The basement and the first two floors were left in their original state and the Rest House is now open to the public as one of the memorial halls.

Opening hours vary by season and can be found broken down on the website: hiroshima-resthouse.com/hours.

Aioi Bridge

An unusually shaped "T" bridge connects the two banks of the Honkawa River with a turn-off to the island where Memorial Park and its museum are located.

The Aioi Bridge is located right in the centre of Hiroshima and, due to its location and easily recognisable shape, served as a target for the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.