Peace Park (Heiwa Koen)

Peace Park stretches along a hillside terrace above Urakami, built as a memorial ground on the site once occupied by a prison destroyed in the 1945 bombing. The park's focal point is the ten-meter bronze Peace Statue, its right hand raised toward the sky in warning and its left hand extended horizontally in a gesture of peace, created by sculptor Seibou Kitamura. Below the statue, the Fountain of Peace commemorates victims who died searching for water, and a long promenade lined with monuments donated by cities and nations around the world runs the length of the park, each in a distinct national style. Visitors typically walk the full length of the grounds, pausing at the statue for photographs and continuing to the adjacent Hypocenter Park and Atomic Bomb Museum, all connected by short walking paths. A visit to the park itself takes thirty to sixty minutes, longer if combined with the neighboring sites, which most travelers do in a single outing. The park is at its most solemn and crowded on August 9, when the annual Peace Ceremony draws thousands of attendees, dignitaries, and media to the statue plaza; on ordinary days it is calm, with joggers, students, and small tour groups passing through. Early morning light is best for photographing the statue without crowds, and cherry blossoms bloom along the paths in early April.