Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park
By Andrew Liyan · Last updated: October 3, 2026 · Facts verified: October 3, 2026
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park (広島平和記念公園) is the free, always-open park in central Hiroshima laid out after the war on the Nakajima district, a few hundred meters from the hypocenter of the atomic bomb. It holds the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims, the Peace Flame, the Children's Peace Monument and the National Peace Memorial Hall. The Atomic Bomb Dome stands across the river at its northern end and the ticketed Peace Memorial Museum at its southern end. Walking the monuments takes about an hour; with the museum and the Dome, plan on 3 to 4 hours.
- Area
- Naka, Hiroshima
- Nearest Station
- Genbaku Dome-mae tram stop (north end) or Fukuro-machi tram stop (museum end); Heiwa Kinen Koen bus stop
- Best For
- History, Memorials, Walking
How the park is laid out
Before 1945 the Nakajima district, on the sandbar between the Motoyasu and Honkawa rivers, was one of Hiroshima's busiest neighborhoods of shops, temples and homes. The bomb destroyed it entirely. After the war the city set the area aside as a memorial park, built to a design by the architect Kenzo Tange, which won a competition in 1949.
Tange organized the park along one north-south axis, and that axis is the easiest way to understand it. From the museum's Main Building at the southern end, the arched Cenotaph, the Peace Flame and the Atomic Bomb Dome across the river line up in a single view. Most of the monuments sit on either side of this line, so a walk from the museum to the Dome, or the reverse, passes nearly everything worth seeing.
A few places sit off the axis. The Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims, a largely underground building near the Peace Flame, holds a hall of remembrance and collections of victims' names, photographs and survivors' written accounts, and is free to enter. North of the Peace Flame, the Children's Peace Monument is where school groups leave strings of paper cranes, and the A-bomb Mound near the river holds the ashes of tens of thousands of victims who could not be identified.
The park is a public space as well as a memorial: people cross it on the way to work and sit by the river at lunch. It is not the museum. The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum is a separate, ticketed visit with its own hours and web tickets, and the Atomic Bomb Dome is seen from outside its fence. This page covers the open-air park and its monuments.
What to see in Peace Memorial Park
Look through the Cenotaph toward the Dome
The arched Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims covers a stone chest holding the register of names of those who died because of the bombing, a list added to every year. Its arch frames the Peace Flame and the Atomic Bomb Dome beyond. People come here to pray and lay flowers, so keep the space in front of it clear.
See the Peace Flame
Lit in 1964, the flame is to burn until nuclear weapons are abolished. Fire from the Reikado hall on Miyajima's Mount Misen was among the flames used to light it.
Visit the Children's Peace Monument
Built with donations collected by children, the monument remembers Sadako Sasaki, who died of leukemia ten years after the bombing, and the children who died because of it. Paper cranes sent from across Japan and abroad are displayed in glass booths beside it, and you can leave your own.
Go into the National Peace Memorial Hall
Free, indoors and much quieter than the museum. The Hall of Remembrance below ground is a place to pause, and the hall keeps victims' names and photographs and a collection of survivors' written accounts, some available in other languages.
Ring the Peace Bell
The Peace Bell, on the east side of the park, is there to be rung by anyone who wishes to.
Walk the riverbank to the Dome
The Motoyasu River path on the park's west side passes the A-bomb Mound and leads north to the bridge across to the Atomic Bomb Dome.
Attend, or plan around, August 6
The Peace Memorial Ceremony is held in front of the Cenotaph on the morning of August 6, with a moment of silence at 8:15 AM, the time of the bombing. Parts of the park are reserved for attendees, and in the evening lanterns are floated on the river.
How to Get to Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park
The park fills the northern end of the Nakajima sandbar in central Hiroshima, between the Motoyasu and Honkawa rivers. Pick your stop by which end you want to start from.
From Hiroshima Station by streetcar
For the north end and the Dome, take Hiroden Line 2 or 6 to Genbaku Dome-mae, about 15 to 20 minutes. For the museum at the south end, take Line 1 to Fukuro-machi; the museum puts that trip at about 25 minutes.
By bus
The Meipuru-pu sightseeing loop bus and Hiroshima Bus No. 24 stop at Heiwa Kinen Koen, on Peace Boulevard beside the museum.
From Miyajima
Direct boats from Miyajima arrive at a pier on the Motoyasu River in the park, about 45 minutes. Hiroden Line 2 from Hiroden Miyajimaguchi reaches Genbaku Dome-mae in about an hour.
On foot from downtown
The Hondori shopping arcade and Okonomimura are 10 to 15 minutes east of the park on foot.
- •For the Dome and the north end, use Genbaku Dome-mae (Lines 2 and 6); for the museum end, Fukuro-machi (Line 1) or the Heiwa Kinen Koen bus stop.
- •Direct boats between Miyajima and the park's riverside pier take about 45 minutes.
- •Hiroden streetcars are not covered by the Japan Rail Pass.
For IC cards, tickets, and full transit basics for Hiroshima, see the complete transportation guide.
Getting Around Hiroshima →Best Time to Visit Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park
Early morning, before school groups arrive; August 6 for the Peace Memorial Ceremony, with large crowds.
- •The park never closes, so time it around the museum: an early or late web-ticket slot, with the monuments before or after.
- •School groups gather around the Children's Peace Monument on spring and autumn weekdays; early morning and evening are quieter.
- •On August 6 the area around the Cenotaph is reserved for the morning ceremony, and lanterns are floated on the river after dark.
Cherry trees along the rivers bloom around the monuments. Weekends bring picnickers as well as visitors.
The morning ceremony at the Cenotaph is attended by survivors, officials and the public, with a moment of silence at 8:15 AM. Lanterns are floated on the river in the evening.
Comfortable weather for walking the park, though school-trip groups are frequent in October and November.
Entry Fee & Hours
- •The park's main paths, bridges and monument plazas are flat and paved, and step-free for wheelchairs and strollers.
- •The National Peace Memorial Hall is free to enter and has its own daytime opening hours, separate from the museum's.
Nearby Attractions
Combine with Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park on the same day
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum
Atomic Bomb Dome
Okonomimura
Hiroshima Castle
A morning in the Peace Memorial area
The park, the museum and the Dome make one half day. This order starts with the museum while it is quiet.
Museum first, then north to the Dome
Morning
Peace Memorial Museum with an early web ticket, about 1 to 2 hours
Late morning
North through Peace Memorial Park: the Cenotaph, the Peace Flame and the Children's Peace Monument
Midday
Cross the river to the Atomic Bomb Dome
Afternoon or evening
Shukkeien Garden and Hiroshima Castle, or Miyajima, then dinner at Okonomimura
Frequently Asked Questions
Planning Your Hiroshima Trip?
See the full Hiroshima destination guide or browse Japan itineraries that include this city.
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