Hiroshima Travel Guide

Hiroshima is the main city of the Chugoku Region on Japan's main island Honshu. On 6 August 1945, it 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 bomb over the centre of the city, killing 140,000 civilians.

Today, millions of visitors make a pilgrimage to Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park to pay tribute to the victims, but also to marvel at the lively modern city that has overcome its tragedy to become the thriving home of more than a million people. Not surprisingly, the city has become vehemently engaged in the promotion of peace, and American visitors are welcomed with open arms along with foreigners of all other nationalities.

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. It's criss-crossed by rivers and wide avenues, and contains several good museums. Some of Japan's most scenic excursion destinations are nearby, making Hiroshima a good base for explorations into the countryside.