Nagasaki Peace Park

Nagasaki Peace Park was built close to the center of Nagasaki, on the hill north of the atomic bomb hypocenter, to commemorate and seek for the repose of victims died in the atomic bomb disaster on August 9, 1945. Until today, there are still a lot of people: visitors, family members of the dead, and living survivors, coming here to pay tribute to the dead and leave bouquets. Every year on August 9, there will also be a peace memorial ceremony held in the Peace Park.

What You Can See in Nagasaki Peace Park:

Peace Statue

Peace Statue is definitely at top of the list of Peace Park’s most impressive sites. The statue is a male god praying for peace, 9.7 meters high (32 feet), whose right hand points at sky, representing the dropping of the atomic bomb, and left hand stretches out with palm heading down to wish for a peaceful and serene world. He crosses his right leg to sit in meditation. It was accomplished by Seibo Kitamura, a sculptor from Nagasaki, in August, 1955. It took the sculptor 5 years to finish the Peace Statue. 

There’s one black square marble plaque right in front of the male god statue with some of the victims’ names on it. And on both sides of Peace Statue, there are two crane towers with colorful paper ribbons hung by people who come here to pray for peace. This kind of paper ribbons can be seen in other parts of the park as well. 

A Statue of Nagasaki Peace Park

Praying Ribbons in Peace Park

Fountain of Peace

What faces the Peace Statue is Fountain of Peace, a round fountain with two circles: the outer circle is shaped as wings of a crane, the inner as wings of a white dove. A girl named Sachiko Yamaguchi left her diary on the plaque in front of the Fountain of Peace: “I’m too thirsty. There’s something oily on the surface of water, but I have to drink it.” The fountain, 18 meters (19.7 yards) in diameter, was finished in 1969, to pray for the people who died in the bombing because of dehydration.

Donated Monuments 

You can stop for a while to appreciate the monuments in Nagasaki Peace Park donated by 15 countries: Argentina, America, Turkey, Brazil, New Zealand…

The monuments are carved by premier sculptors and distributed everywhere in the park. Among all the donations, there is a white statue of a girl, who stares at a dove standing on one of her spreading arms placidly, as if she is praying for eternal peace on the earth. 

Atomic Bomb Hypocenter Monument

500 meters (550 yards) away from Peace Statue, at the atomic bomb hypocenter, a black marble monument stands to tell where the bomb was dropped. At the same place, white bricks on the ground form circles which look like blast waves in the bombing. 

Hypocenter Monument in Nagasaki Peace Park

Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum 

You don’t want to miss a museum which stores authentic materials about nuclear war, survivors’ testimonies and a 1:1 replica of a-bomb. Observation Deck of the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum, only about 30 meters (33 yards) away, is also a good place to visit. You can have an uninterrupted view of Nagasaki at the deck

How to Get to Nagasaki Peace Park:

Take tram from Nagasaki railway station to Peace Park Station, and then walk for 2 minutes.

Ticket: 

Peace Park and Atomic Bomb Hypocenter Monument: Free
Atomic Bomb Museum: 200 yen per person 

Opening Hours: 

1. 24 hours except for Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum
2. Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum:
Opening Time: 8:30 all year round
Closing Time: 
a. May to August: 18:30, last entry at 18:00; Note: During August 7-9, it is closed at 20:00 and last entry is at 19:30.
b. September to April: 17:30, last entry at 17:00