Hijiyama Park

Hijiyama Park is a 26-hectare park spread across the summit of Mount Hijiyama (about 70 m above sea level). It opened in 1903. Inside the park are the Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art, which collects post–World War II works and contemporary art related to Hiroshima, and the Manga Library, which holds about 155,000 volumes and includes a foreign-language manga corner. Hijiyama Park is also known as a cherry-blossom spot, with around 1,300 cherry trees. Because it’s on a hill, on clear days you can enjoy panoramic views of Hiroshima City and the Seto Inland Sea. On the south side of the park are the Radiation Effects Research Foundation (formerly ABCC), which investigates the health effects of radiation, and the Army Cemetery established in 1872. At Tamon-in Temple near the western foothills, there is a bell engraved with the words “No more Hiroshima,” and it is rung every morning at 8:15, the time the atomic bomb was dropped. The bell was cast after the war, but the bell tower is an atomic-bombed building. There are several routes up to Hijiyama Park, but for those who don’t exercise regularly, it’s recommended to go via the moving walkway “Hijiyama Skywalk.”