On 9 August 1945, the world's second nuclear weapon detonated over Nagasaki, and this sombre place recounts the city's destruction and loss of life through photos and artefacts, including mangled rocks, trees, furniture, pottery and clothing, a clock stopped at 11.02 (the time of the bombing), firsthand accounts from survivors, and stories of heroic relief efforts. Exhibits also include the post-bombing struggle for nuclear disarmament, and conclude with a chilling illustration of which nations bear nuclear arms.
Getty Images/Robert Harding World Imagery
Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum
Top choice in Nagasaki
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
0.22 MILES
A still, serene and deeply moving place, Nagasaki's Peace Park commemorates the atomic bombing of the city on August 9, 1945, which reduced the…
Nagasaki National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims
0.03 MILES
Adjacent to the Atomic Bomb Museum and completed in 2003, this minimalist memorial by Kuryū Akira is a profoundly moving place. It's best approached by…
2.05 MILES
In 1641 the Tokugawa shogunate banished all foreigners from Japan, with one exception: Dejima, a fan-shaped, artificial island in Nagasaki harbour. From…
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2.63 MILES
This hilltop church, Japan's oldest (1864), is dedicated to the 26 Christians who were crucified in Nagasaki in 1597. The former seminary and bishop's…
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28.05 MILES
About 15 minutes on foot from Arita Station, this large, hilltop operation is the most comprehensive ceramics museum in the region. The Shibata Collection…
12.4 MILES
From afar, the Unesco World Heritage island of Hashima resembles a battleship, hence its nickname Gunkanjima ('battleship island'). Up close, this long…
29.29 MILES
This hilltop castle was ruled mostly by the Matsudaira clan from the 1660s and played a part in the Shimabara Rebellion. It was rebuilt in 1964. As well…
1.6 MILES
Situated on a forested hilltop and reached via multiple staircases with nearly 200 steps, this enormous shrine was established in 1625. Around the grounds…
Nearby Nagasaki attractions
1. Nagasaki National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims
0.03 MILES
Adjacent to the Atomic Bomb Museum and completed in 2003, this minimalist memorial by Kuryū Akira is a profoundly moving place. It's best approached by…
2. Atomic Bomb Hypocentre Park
0.12 MILES
A must-see for anyone coming to Nagasaki for its historic significance, this park houses a smooth, black-stone column that marks the point above which the…
0.22 MILES
A still, serene and deeply moving place, Nagasaki's Peace Park commemorates the atomic bombing of the city on August 9, 1945, which reduced the…
0.32 MILES
At the far end of the Peace Park, this hulking, muscular bronze statue by Nagasaki Prefecture native Kitamura Seibō is a much-photographed symbol of the…
0.35 MILES
Once the largest church in Asia (1914), the cathedral took three decades to complete and three seconds to flatten. This smaller replacement cathedral was…
6. Shiroyama Elementary School
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This was the closest school to the nuclear blast, up a hill a mere 500m away, and 1400 children perished here. Nowadays, it's hard not to be moved by the…
0.45 MILES
The atomic blast knocked down half of the stone entrance arch to Sanno-jinja shrine, 800m southeast of the hypocentre, but the other pillar remains, a…
8. Nagai Takashi Memorial Museum
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This small but quietly moving museum celebrates the courage and faith of one man in the face of overwhelming adversity. Already suffering from leukaemia,…