Leaving the exit, on the right hand side you will locate an information desk where you can pick up a brochure of the city in English, which also contains a map. If you prefer, you can make a booking for an accommodation there. The city has numerous "business man" type hotels with prices ranging from 6,000 - 8,000 yen. There are also 2 economical Japanese type inns (Mikawa Ryokan, Minshuku Ikedaya), costing about 3,000 yen. You will not be interested in hotels that have a curtain draping in front of their parking area. These accommodate guests who occupy rooms for only a few hours while recuperating.
Next to the information office there is a "Computer Travel & City Guide". If you press a button for your destination, it will light up the relevant route. You can also retrieve information on the cost of your train in case you are continuing your travel.
If you become ill on arrival, there is a first aid office on the second floor of the Sliinkansen platform building.
If you have doubts about scouting the city on your own, there is a guide service called "HIP" (Hiroshima Interpreters for Peace), consisting of ladies who will be glad to take you on a tour of the city if you provide advance notice.
If you wish to travel economically, the street car is probably the best means of sightseeing for anyone visiting for the first time. There is a whole-day ticket which entitles you to utilize the streetcar throughout the day. The street cars are colorful; they have been purchased from various cities in Japan and one was imported from West Germany. The streetcars have numbered plates that indicate their destinations. The majority are without conductors so that you must press a button after listening to a recording regarding your destination. We must warn you that the number 4 is not used widely in Japan because it is pronounced "shill, which also means death.
There is also a Home Visit System in which foreign visitors are accommodated in ordinary Japanese homes where they can experience the everyday life of the Japanese.
Hiroshima was founded in 1889, two decades after the abolition of Japanese feudalism by the Meiji Restoration. The Sino-Japanese War (1894) and the Russo-Japanese War (1904-5) that followed made Hiroshima an important military base. That fact contributed to its becoming a target of the atomic bombing because Hiroshima had catered to the huge military operations in Japan before and during the war. It was also known as a former castle town of Lord Asano. It is famous as a beautiful city of water used in the production of tasteful Japanese wine (sake), pronounced sah-keh.
August 6, 1945 marked the beginning of the drastic change that has taken place in Hiroshima. From the ashes of the bombing, there emerged a newly born city yearning for peace and steadily growing.
There are many landmarks and places of interest to visit in the city.
The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park features the Peace Memorial Museum, the Memorial Cenotaph, the Atomic Bomb Child Monument, and many other memorials The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, generally called the A-bomb Museum, was completed in August 1955. The building stands on pillars and serves as a gateway to the park. The museum houses about 600 vivid scenes of the tragedy and other related items. An English tape that can be rented will guide you through the museum.
Upon leaving the museum, you will see a memorial Cenotaph to the north with the inscription "Let all the souls here rest in peace; For we shall not repeat the evil", containing the names of all those known to have been lost in the atomic bombing. To date, over 100,000 souls have been registered. It was also designed to shelter froi-n the rain the souls of those who perished in the atomic bombing.
Also in the park, you will notice a pond with a flame burning, which is called the Flame of Peace. it will continue to burn until the day when there will be no more nuclear weapons. There is a mound where countless nui-nbers of unidentified victims were buried along with a statue of "Prayers" and a Children's Peace Monument. The latter was erected by schoolmates of a fifth grader who called out to schoolchildren throughout Japan to raise the necessary funds. During the hospitalization of this child, she made paper cranes day after day, placing her hopes for recovery in a popular belief, which says that the successful folding of a thousand 'paper cranes will bring -good luck to the folder. Hence, the large figure of a folded crane on top of the monument where thousands of tiny paper cranes sent from all parts of the country and even from abroad are placed.
At the end of the park you will notice the Atomic Bomb Dome (Ruin of the Industrial Promotion Hall), which stands completely gutted at one end of the T-shaped bridge. The concrete portion was burnt and even melted, leaving the skeletal steel frame exposed to the sky. It is the only ruined building still allowed to stand, its dome being a symbol of the destruction and indicating the hypocenter of the bomb.
Across the street you will notice the Municipal Baseball Stadium, the home grounds of the Hiroshima Carp baseball team.
Walking a few more minutes to the north, you will find an indoor swimming pool, a family pool which is a paradise for the children in the summer, as well as the prefectural gymnasium, audio-visual library, art museum, Hiroshima science and culture museum for children, and the Hiroshima Central Library.
If you keep looking north, you will notice the Hiroshima Castle, also called "Rijo" (Carp Castle) which was completed in 1589. A reconstruction of the Castle is now under way but will retain the original architectural design as well as the outward appearance. It houses a museum displaying art objects, ancient manuscripts, photos of local minerals, paintings, maps, armory, folk art, etc., which have been discovered during excavations. The top floor was used as a place for lookout site and is provided with doors, windows, corridors, and railings. Loopholes for shooting with bow and arrow as well as guns and stone-dropping devices over the back gate have also been reproduced.
If you leave the castle grounds through the eastern exit and walk 0.4 mile (0.6 km) further east, you will come to a garden called Shukkei-en, often mentioned as the Garden of Condensed Scenic Beauty. The garden was designed in 1620 by the feudal lord Nagaakira Asano, the founder of the Hiroshima feudal clan and constituted a part of the detached residence of the lord's family for more than 300 years. It is situated on the Ota River, from which water is drawn to make a stream and ponds within its enclosure. The islets and bridges, the swimming carp, and the surrounding woods combine to lend a special beauty to the garden. The Koko-kyo, a bridge of Chinese design which spans the center of the pond, is said to had been remodeled two times before its completion by a prominent gardener from Kyoto in compliance with the request of Shigeakira Asano, the seventh lord of Hiroshima feudal clan. In 1940, it was contributed to the Hiroshima Prefectural Government by the Asano family and was designated as a scenic spot by the national government of Japan.
Catching #5 streetcar from Hiroshima station, the 4th stop will bring you to Hijiyama Park. Walking for about 5 minutes and turning left at the intersection you will locate a new museum of modern art to be opened in May 1989. Alongside it you will also notice a library noted for its open-air reading facilities situated outside the building. If you turn right at the intersection and climb the hill, heading for the NHK tower, you will find an observation platform that commands a panoramic view of the city and the Seto Inland Sea. In the spring, the hill is covered with cherry blossoms, and at night it offers a beautiful view of the city.
In this area you will also locate an organization called the Radiation Effects Research Foundation (RERF). The objective of the RFRF is to conduct research studies, for peaceful purposes, on the medical effects of radiation on man and on diseases that may be affected by radiation, with a view to contributing to the maintenance of the health and welfare of atomic bomb survivors and to the enhancement of the health of all mankind.
At the rear of this installation, there is a Japanese military infantry graveyard representing all prefectures in Japan, as well as a French Marine Infantry Regiment monument and 7 graves of persons who died in Hiroshima Bay on 8 Sept. 1900. You can visit the NHK broadcasting relay station which is located there.
To the south of Hiroshima city, you can reach the Ujina port, which is an alternate means of transportation by sea to Miyajima or the boarding point for a ferry trip to the Technical School of the Maritime Self-Defense Forces, previously called the Japanese Naval Academy. Many mementos are scattered on the campus, including the 40-centimeter turret of the battleship Mutsu and the midget submarines that participated in the attack on Pearl Harbor.
From Ujina port you can have a daytime or sunset cruise of the Seto inland sea with a fancy dinner on board. The Seto inland sea stretches about 500 km from east to west with about 3,000 islands, large and small, for a unique and magnificent view. There is also a hydrofoil, which will take you to the Kosanji (temple) on Setoda island.
To the west of the city, you can locate the Municipal Botanical Garden, covering a total of 17.6 hectares. The garden has orchids and 220,000 plants, boasting 9,000 species, and other facilities such as a cactus greenhouse, a grassy plaza, and a platform from which the Seto inland sea can be seen. At a greater distance to the west, you will find Miyajima, one of the three major scenic attractions in Japan.
To the northwest of the city is the Mitaki Temple (20 minutes by bus from the city center plus 10 minutes on foot). It is called the "Temple of Three Waterfalls" after the three falls in the vicinity of the temple. Asa Zoological Park is also in this direction (50 minutes by bus from the city center). This is a wildlife park located in the suburbs. It covers an extensive area of 230,000 square meters and has a ollection of wild animals from Africa and other parts of the world.
To the east of Hiroshima is the Mazda automobile factory. A tour can be arranged if you are mechanically minded. Also in this direction is the Kirin Beer factory.
Hiroshima is also renowned for the nationally famous flower festival held along the Heiwa-dori on May 3, 4, and 5 each year.
With "No more Hiroshima" as a fervent prayer, Hiroshima is ontinuing to evelop as an international City of Peace.
