Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum | Japan Solo Travel
Tuesday, April 25, 2017
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| Hiroshima's clear skies after the rain |
Witnessed the clear blue skies of Hiroshima when I walked out of Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall — a sight impossible in Singapore due to our constant pollution. Sigh, Mother Nature sure is beautiful.
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| Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims |
Built in 1951, the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims was one of first memorial monuments of the atomic bomb. The Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims holds the names of all victims of the atomic bomb.
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| Hiroshima Pond of Peace encircles the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victim |
安らかに眠って下さい 過ちは 繰返しませぬから
Let all souls here rest in peace, for the error will not be repeated.
Stood around Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park for a while, considering whether I should enter the Paece Memorial Museum because only the main building was opened to visitors since the entire museum is under complete renovation till 2018. Besides, Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum's entrance fee costed ¥200 but there was a hig probability tht I would run out of yen before even reaching Tokyo. Damn my inability to do proper budgeting!
In the end, I decided to go ahead anyway because I wasn't sure of the next time I'd be in Hiroshima and I thought the museum would be an essential highlight of my trip considering how much I enjoy war history. Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park actually have a student price and I had my student card with me, but Japan's student fares usually only apply to individuals below 16 years old so I couldn't enjoy that discount.
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| View from Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum |
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum
Address
1-2 Nakajimacho, Naka Ward, Hiroshima, Hiroshima Prefecture 730-0811, Japan
Opening Hours
Opens daily from 8:30am to 6pm
Admission Fee
Adults: ¥200
Students, elderly aged 65 and above: ¥100
Children: Free
Renovation
East building closed from September 2014 to April 15 2017 for renovation.
Main building closed from April 15 2017 to July 2018 for renovation.
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum spared no mercy in showing visitors the horrors of nuclear weapons. Destruction was the first sight that greeted me upon setting foot in the museum. Every exhibit provided detailed explanation in Japanese and English, with some exhibits also having international language like Chinese, French, Italian etc.
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| How victims closest to ground zero look like immediately after the atomic bomb set off |
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| Clothes were torn right off the victims |
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| Most victims even lost their skin and developed huge blisters |
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| Area of Hiroshima directly affected by the atomic bomb |
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| Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum displays keepsakes of the aftermath of the atomic bombing |
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| Life sized replica of Little Boy, the atomic bomb that hit Hiroshima. Little Boy, ironically, turned out bigger than expected. |
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| To prove the point that most objects near ground zero were destroyed beyond recognition, we were allowed to touch some exhibits |
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| Hands-on exhibit for visitors to calculate radiation |
There was an entire section dedicated to Sadako Sasaki, where I expectedly spent most of my time in.
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| The book on the left was the Sadako Sasaki book I read that left me a deep impression of Hiroshima |
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| When standing at the correct angle, you'll be able to see all major landmarks of Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park |
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| The perfect view of Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park (save for the Flame of Peace that I accidentally missed ugh) |
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| A message left by Mr Obama during his visit to Hiroshima in 2016 |
Mr Obama was the first standing US president to pay Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park a visit. During his visit, he addressed the horrors of nuclear weapons, donated paper cranes and wrote a letter promising to spread peace.
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| Ended my visit by signing in the signature boo |
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| My handwriting got ugly after secondary school T_T |
I bought a pair of paper cranes earrings made with real pearls at the souvenir shop for about SGD $30 — an exorbitant amount for a frugal person like me but paper cranes mean a lot to me so I splurged. I got the shop keepers to put in the earrings for me because I'm a #noob. Being typical excitable and hospitable Japanese, the shop keepers started exclaiming kawaii kawaii. I thought their declaration further reaffirmed that I made the right decision to spend.
Except that I dropped one side of the earrings within an hour when I fell asleep on the Hiroshima Electric Railway and woke up to one side of my earrings missing -_- I could write an entire storybook on the (mis)adventures of my pierced ears -____-
Earrings aside, I loved that you the souvenir store — named Rest House of Hiroshima Peace Park — was opened to public, even if you didn't pay a visit to Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. I darted in and out of the rest house for a comforting burst of warmth during Japan's bitter winter. Thank god for warmers!
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Japan Solo Travel (January 2017)
Osaka Summary | Osaka Couchsurfing Experience | Osaka Castle Park and Tsuyunoten Shrine | Shopping at Dotonbori and Glico Man
Kyoto Summary | AEON Mall Kyoto and The Cube Shopping Mall | Arashiyama Bamboo Groves and Nonomiya-jinja Shrine | Kyoto Tower Public Bathhouse ~YUU~
Hiroshima Summary and Atomic Bomb Dome | Children's Peace Monument and Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall | Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum | Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and Peace Bell
Miyajima Day Trip Summary | Omotesando Shopping Street | Itsukushima Shrine, Deers and Miyajima Sunset
9 Hours Narita Capsule Hotel Review