Hiroshima and Miyajima · Central Hiroshima
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum
The museum opened in August 1955 inside the Peace Park. The Main Building was designed by a team led by Kenzo Tange, and it stands on pillars, so that the space beneath it symbolizes the ability to rise from the ruins. In 2006 it was designated an Important Cultural Property, and according to the city it is the first of the buildings built after the war to receive that designation.
The route starts on floor 3 of the East Building and moves to the Main Building. There you see personal belongings the victims left behind, clothes, photos and drawings, and what happened to people on 6 August 1945. From there you return to the East Building, to the exhibit on the danger of nuclear weapons and on the history of Hiroshima on floor 2, and to filmed testimonies of survivors. The East Building reopened after renovation in April 2017, and the Main Building in April 2019.
Good to know
- Each ticket is for a half-hour slot that you choose. During regular hours you can also enter earlier or later, but a regular-hours ticket is not valid during the reserved hours, and an early-morning ticket is not valid in the evening.
- The audio guide lasts about 70 minutes, in 15 languages including English, with no Hebrew. You rent it on floor 1 of the East Building.
- Large bags are not allowed into the exhibit, and there are lockers on floor 1 of the East Building. Photography is allowed without flash, without a tripod and without a selfie stick.
- The museum is closed from 15 to 20 February 2027 to change the exhibit. It does not publish an age recommendation, and the exhibit in the Main Building includes photos of the injured and the dead.
What is nearby
Approximate walking minutes from the entrance of Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.
- HereHiroshima Peace Memorial Museum
- 1 min
Aogiri Visitor's Lounge Cafe
On floor 1 of the East Building, open even without a ticket: ice cream, drinks, light meals and boxed meals, and Hiroshima souvenirs such as momiji manju.
- ~2 min
Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims More to see
A hall run by the Japanese government, mostly underground. On the lowest floor is a round hall with a panorama of the destroyed city, made of 140 thousand tiles, the estimated number of dead by the end of 1945. It also holds names and photos of victims and testimonies of survivors. Entry is free.
- ~3 min
BACKEN MOZART CAFE, International Conference Center Hiroshima Cafe
A cafe on the ground floor of the International Conference Center, in the south of the park near the museum. Meals, cakes and coffee.
- ~6 min
Rest House, Peace Memorial Park More to see
The Taishoya kimono shop was built here in 1929. Of the 37 employees in the building on 6 August 1945, only one survived, a man who had gone down to the basement at that moment. The basement has been preserved and is open to visitors. Floor 1 has tourist information and souvenirs, and floor 2 has the 'Piano Cafe', next to a piano that survived the bombing. Entry is free.
- ~9 min
Okonomiyaki Nagataya Food
A two-minute walk from the Atomic Bomb Dome and from Peace Park.
- ~18 min
Okonomimura Food
A building in Shintenchi where more than twenty okonomiyaki stalls sit on floors 2 to 4. Each stall is independent, with its own hours and day off.
More in Central Hiroshima
Appears in: Hiroshima and Miyajima: the Peace Memorial in the morning, the floating torii gate in the evening