Fukuro-machi Elementary School Peace Museum

The Fukuro-machi Elementary School Peace Museum is a museum that uses the former West School Building of Fukuro-machi Elementary School, which is an A-bombed building. The school stands just 460 meters from the hypocenter, but the former West Building did not collapse because it was made of reinforced concrete. After serving for about one year as a temporary first-aid station, the building was used again as part of Fukuro-machi Elementary School. In 1998, reconstruction was decided due to aging facilities, but at the request of alumni and local residents, part of the old building was preserved. In 2002, it opened as the Fukuro-machi Elementary School Peace Museum. On the stairwell walls, chalk-written "messages" remain even today—notes left by people searching for information about the safety of students and family members. In the basement level, you can see the A-bombed drum that was used in place of a bell to mark time, as well as windows and doors damaged by the blast. After visiting the museum, consider walking to the nearby former Bank of Japan Hiroshima Branch, also an A-bombed building, located about two minutes away on foot.