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Nagasaki Peace Park & Atomic Bomb Museum

Published: Jul 22, 2026
Updated: Jul 22, 2026
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Nagasaki Peace Park & Atomic Bomb Museum

At 11:02 on August 9, 1945, a plutonium bomb detonated 500 meters above the Urakami Valley, instantly killing an estimated 40,000 people and destroying everything within a 1km radius. The Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum documents the event with artifacts, survivor testimonies, and contextual history of the Pacific War. The adjacent Peace Park contains the Peace Statue — a 9.7-meter bronze figure with right hand pointing to the sky (the threat of nuclear weapons) and left hand extended horizontally (eternal peace).

What distinguishes Nagasaki's atomic legacy from Hiroshima is the specific targeting: the bomb was originally intended for Kokura (now Kitakyushu) but was diverted to Nagasaki due to cloud cover. The hypocenter was the Urakami Cathedral — the largest Catholic church in Asia — making Nagasaki's Christian community the unintended victim of the second atomic attack.

Essential Information

Opening Hours

Museum: 8:30 AM – 5:30 PM (extended to 6:30 PM May–August) | Peace Park: open 24 hours

Closed: Open year-round | Museum closed December 29–31

Entrance Fee

Museum: ¥200 adults | Peace Park: free

Best Season

Year-round | August 9 for the annual peace ceremony (moment of silence at 11:02 AM, attend from 8:30 AM)

Visit Duration

90 minutes (museum + hypocenter monument walk + Peace Park)

Getting There

Access Information

7-8 Hirano-machi, Nagasaki City. 5-minute walk from Matsuyama-machi tram stop. Museum hours: 8:30–17:30 (extended to 18:30 May–August). Admission: ¥200. Peace Park: free, open 24 hours.

Insider Guide

Premium
**Survivor testimony sessions:** The museum occasionally hosts hibakusha (atomic bomb survivor) testimony sessions — announced on the museum website 2 weeks in advance. English interpretation available. These sessions are profound and increasingly rare as the survivor population ages. **Hypocenter monument walk:** From the museum, walk 500m south to the hypocenter monument — a small black pillar marking the exact detonation point. The reconstructed Urakami Cathedral (rebuilt 1959) is visible 500m northeast. This spatial relationship — museum, hypocenter, cathedral — clarifies the bombing narrative better than museum exhibits alone. **August 9 ceremony:** The annual peace ceremony (9:00–12:00) is open to public attendance. The moment of silence at 11:02 is observed by the entire city — traffic stops, all activity ceases. Attendance requires no registration; arrive by 8:30 for seating.

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