Hiroshima City Guide - overview

Tragedy has turned Hiroshima, the main city of the Chugoku Region on Japan's main island of Honshu, into the country's most famous tourist attraction. On 6 August 1945 the unfortunate city became the first ever target of an atomic bomb. Early in the morning three United States B-29 bombers flew in from the northeast; one dropped its deadly ordnance over the centre of the city, leaving a mushroom cloud that darkened the sky while more than 200,000 civilians died. Today thousands of visitors make a pilgrimage to Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park, marvelling at the lively modern city that has overcome its tragedy to become the thriving home to more than a million people. Not surprisingly the city has become vehemently engaged in the promotion of peace. Visitors are drawn mainly to the Peace Memorial Park and its museum, but the rebuilt city is an attractive place to visit in its own right, criss-crossed by rivers and wide avenues and containing several good museums. Nearby are some of Japan's most scenic excursion destinations.

Getting around: Hiroshima still operates an extensive tram network, called Hiroden. Most tram routes emanate from the JR Hiroshima Station, charging a flat rate within the city centre. The city also has a metro system, which only serves the northern suburbs, and is not usually useful for visitors.