2024 marks the 79th year since Hiroshima was the first ever target of an atomic bomb in human history. This is a significant year as there has certainly been a shift in perspectives and renewing interest in visiting Hiroshima, Japan since the movie Oppenheimer won the academy award for best film and was finally released in Japan this year. There are also significant changes in the city as there are fewer survivors to tell of their experiences first-hand.
I have been writing about life & travel in Hiroshima since co-founding GetHiroshima in ’99 and have now given hundreds of private tours here, trained local guides, worked on sustainable tourism consulting projects with businesses and destination managers to develop better inbound tourism products. And for 21 years I worked as a university educator doing research on sustainable tourism and creating study abroad programs while teaching tourism, business and communication courses.
When I first moved to Hiroshima in 1996 we didn’t realize at the time that we would settle here for most of our lives or that ’96 would be such a significant year in terms of tourism assets for the “city of peace”. In 1996, both the A-bomb dome and Miyajima island’s famous Itsukushima floating tori gate and shrine were both certified as UNESCO world heritage sites.
Incredibly, until ’96 there were still some in the community who argued whether it was necessary to preserve the A-bomb dome. You can understand how it is painful to look at for survivors and some argued it was too sad, ugly and hard to look at. Thankfully, the majority of city planners, peace activists and residents saw the value of the famous ruins and UNESCO certification ended the debate of its value to future generations.
Now in 2024, we are commemorating 79 years since the city was attacked by an Atom Bomb and the preservation of the A-bomb dome ruins is more important than ever as we live in a world full of misinformation and deep fakes. This is a structure people want to and need to see for themselves. I appreciate living here to have the opportunity to consider how relevant the lessons still are from this “city of peace” for our world today.
I often tell visitors about my first visit to Hiroshima in the early 90’s. Like many international tourists, I came here with a heavy heart feeling the historical significance of what my home country had chosen to do to Hiroshima people on August 6, 1945 at 8:15am.
I spent a few days here and was so impressed by the quality of life- great transportation, cycle & walk friendly traffic-free riverside paths lined with grassy areas, and many interesting opportunities for fun and explorations beyond the UNESCO top sights.
Like many first time visitors, I first sought out the museum and peace park but I remember standing horrified at the start of the museum route confronted with bloodied maniquins. In stark contrast, the cutest little Japanese elementary school students, in their crisp and tidy uniforms, were chattering next to me and saying hello cheerfully. “Are you American? OK!” one girl said with a big thumbs up- it was an unbelievable and unexpected interaction in such a shocking spot!
The museum has been updated and those horrifying maniquins have been replaced with more subtle pictures and artifacts documented both A-bomb victims and Hibakusha survivors of the world’s first nuclear bomb attack on civilians. Many Hiroshima survivors will argue that the museum and its displays should still be shocking, because that was the reality of the A-bomb.
I don’t go into the museum with guests on my tours — its often overcrowded and a very powerful and personal experience where people like to take in the displays in silence. I focus on the area outside the museum for tours and spend at least an hour with guests going around the meaningful memorials and sights inside the wide expanse of the peace park. There are other key areas around the city that help make connections to peace, history and culture which I enjoy introducing to people.
Most visitors have now seen Academy Award winning OPPENHEIMER before coming to Hiroshima and it leads to many interesting discussions and a more informed and critical perspective of the scientists and American leaders view.
Comparing what was in the film to my experiences, interviews and research over the years, Hibakusha survivor testimony, and the incredible vision and funding by Hiroshima people to redesigning the city. The area within the mountain range was completely destroyed yet with incredible resilience, planning and hard work with a tactic to use peace-tourism as an economic resource, the city was transformed from rubble to a wonderful place people want to live.
The peace park has become the new heart of Hiroshima city and the spacious park itself as well as the long riversides are full of trees, green public spaces, as well as cycle and walk friendly paths.
Tours around Hiroshima are an interesting chance to introduce what happened here but also engage with visitors on how they view the world- there is always an interesting contrast of ideas and philosophy. I don’t, nor do I think anyone, has the perfect answers but introducing a diversity of influences, stories and perspectives- in this powerful place — gives us a better way to discuss, learn and hopefully find better ways to live together.
Key Hiroshima Stories
- Sadako and the 1000 cranes — the story of Sadako Sasaki has connected with audiences around the world and is one of the reasons the folding of cranes has been connected to wishing for peace.
Sadako was 2 at the time of the bombing and seemed fine, was very active at school for many years, but then got sick and died 10 years later from radiation related illness. Now in peace park, Sadako’s image stands tall on top of the children’s monument which is a focus of many peace park visits. School groups gravitate to this monument for talks and gatherings, some groups sing or clap to commemorate the death of all of the children who died because of the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Then most groups will donate the strands of 1000 cranes, to hang behind the monument, which they have been working on while talking about peace.
One year when I went home to Hawaii I had the pleasure of going to a performance of Peace on Your Wings- a wonderful musical play performed by talented Hawaii high-schoolers and directed by Cari Lee (Ohana Arts). At the performance I just happened to attend I had a chance to meet Sadako’s brother, Masahiro Sasaki, who has long been a part of Japan’s peace movement. There was also a special musical performance by his Masahiro’s son, Sadako’s nephew. The play wasn’t just about the sickness and loss of Sadako’s life, it was also about friendship and Japanese culture and traditions youngsters enjoy in Hiroshima.
Barefood Gen “Hadashi no Gen”
- Barefoot Gen — a manga series which was translated into various languages and made into a TV series and movie is about a young boy’s struggles through WW2 hardships and devastating losses from the A-bomb attack on the city. It was written by Keiji Nakazawa about his experiences as an A-bomb survivor.
There is a stunning Eucalyptus tree on the castle grounds which grew back within a year and inspired Keiji Nakazawa and many other Hiroshima survivors who were told “nothing will grow here for 100 years”. It was a sign that they could stay to rebuild and live healthy prosperous lives in Hiroshima. Trees are so important for life. And I have heard that Nakazawa’s first book was in honor of the A-bomb survivor tree and called “Under the Eucalyptus tree”.
The Green Legacy Hiroshima project certifies and maps out all of Hiroshima’s A-bomb survivor trees within the Blast Zone 2km radius which showed signs of growing back within a year of the nuclear attack. They also collect seeds from these trees and send them to areas around the world trying to recover from war or natural disaster as “Seeds of Hope”.
Inspiring Hiroshima-jin
On my show Seek Sustainable Japan — which I started as a way to entertain and inspire us through COVID- I’ve had so many wonderful opportunities to talk with a few key people about Hiroshima & Peace issues who have interesting and important insights to share.
Nassrine Azimi — cofounder Green Legacy Hiroshima
UNITAR office director and cofounder of the Green Legacy Hiroshima project Nassrine Azimi is an inspiration and has been influential in Hiroshima’s peace movement over many years. I often think of her words about Hiroshima and peace- that we cannot underestimate the power of Hiroshima’s peace park and A-bomb dome being here. It allows visitors the chance to think about what happened. It doesn’t work on everyone, but it’s one of our best peace assets.
Bo Jacobs- Historian of Nuclear Technologies
Bo Jacobs is a long-time Hiroshima educator, researcher, and author who has appeared on countless news broadcasts as well as been a guest on my talkshow Seek Sustainable Japan. See all of his works and appearances.
Kathleen Berkinshaw- author of The Last Cherry Blossom
Kathleen Burkinshaw grew up with a Japanese mother in the US, but never knew of her mother’s experience surviving the nuclear bombing of the city until her daughter was learning about Hiroshima in American high-school. Kathleen documents her mothers story in her book, The Last Cherry Blossom as well as talks with high-school students in America about her mother’s story and the importance of peace.
Talking with Kazuhiko Futagawa — Hibakusha survivor testimony
Kazuhiko Futagawa is one of the youngest Hibakusha as he was in utero at the time of the blast and survived inside his mother who fortunately survived. His story is incredible and brings up a lot of issues of health and also social stigma that survivors of radiation have had to live with.
Mayu Seto- singer, songwriter Peace Activist
Mayu Seto is a cheerful singer-songwriter and peace activist who took part in the Peace Boat program as well as works at Hachidorisha Social Book and Peace Cafe near the Peace Memorial Park. Mayu gave me a tour of the A-bombed warehouses in Deshio which will hopefully be utilized in the future for peace-tourism activities and services.
Mary Popeo- Hiroshima peace park tour creation
Mary Popeo was a peace activist and tour guide among her other activities when she lived and worked in Hiroshima for a few years. Now based in Tokyo and thinking of education and training abroad, we look forward to welcoming her back someday. I met her this year and she says Hiroshima will always feel like home!
Simon Leeper — Peace Culture Village founder, activist & previous mayor of peace
Simon Leeper is one of the most famous Hiroshima locals as he was the first non-Japanese president of the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation from 2007–2013 and then founded the Peace Culture Village which he is still the acting Chairman. He has been active with Mayors for Peace.
Ashley Souther
Most famous among local Hiroshima residents as the American who joined the Dove Pro-Wrestling circuit as the “Wrestler of Peace”, Ashley Souther is an educator and peace activist who has been based in Hiroshima for many years with his bilingual, bicultural international family.
Thank you for your interest in Hiroshima
Hiroshima is a beautiful and meaningful travel destination to visit and I hope that this post helps you dive a bit deeper into why you might choose to come to this area for at least a couple of nights. It might even give you some insights about why you might consider staying much longer, and making it your home, as I have done.
