Naka Incineration Plant

Hiroshima


Exploring a garbage-processing plant might not sound appealing, but if you're an architecture fan this building is worth a visit. The waterfront building is an imposing sleek-lined glass-and-metal construction designed by Taniguchi Yoshio, architect of the MoMA 2004 redesign in New York. Don't miss the tree-lined central atrium, the Ecorium, where you can see the surprisingly clean and quiet internal workings of the plant. Head up to the level 6 viewing gallery for views across a park and the water.

Visitors can walk through the Ecorium and the viewing gallery independently. There are information panels dotted around, and the office on level 6 can give you a pamphlet (note no English is spoken and this isn't a tourism office). To get to the plant, take bus 24 for Yoshijima Eigyō-sho and get off at Minami-Yoshijima (¥220, 20 minutes). Walk back to the intersection and turn right. You won't smell garbage in the area, but you may get a waft of furikake (seasoning) from a nearby factory.


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