Hiroshima is a city in western Japan, historically significant as the site of the first atomic bombing on August 6, 1945, and today a rebuilt, forward-looking city centered on the Peace Memorial Park, with the nearby island of Miyajima a popular day-trip addition.
Why a JR rail pass can turn an otherwise expensive day trip into effectively a rounding error, and the fruit-named local bus system that makes getting around central Hiroshima simple.
The original 16th-century castle stood within a kilometer of the atomic bomb's hypocenter and was destroyed instantly — what you can visit today is a 1958 exterior reconstruction, built as a deliberate symbol of the city's recovery.
The floating torii gate everyone photographs is actually the eighth version of the gate since the 12th century — the current one has stood since 1875.
A carefully fact-checked account of August 6, 1945, the building that survived it, and the site's own choice to call itself a Peace Museum rather than a war museum — including a correction to Sadako Sasaki's age at death.