Nagasaki · HiranoNo.1022★★★Open in map →

Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum

historyThe classic — done right

Nagasaki's municipal museum of the atomic bombing, on the hillside just above the hypocentre. The exhibition is underground and you descend into it from the entrance, and the free National Peace Memorial Hall shares the same block.

FromNagasaki Station
~20 minTram, direct from Nagasaki Station
Get off atAtomic Bomb Museum stop (Nagasaki Electric Tramway)
From there
Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum

Directions ↗

Where it is

20 more notes in Nagasaki · open the map →

What to look for — in walking order

Nagasaki National Peace Memorial HallBalon Greyjoy / CC0

The descent to the exhibition floorthe ramped route down from the lobby level to the display rooms below
Corner A, the day of the bombingthe streets and daily life of Nagasaki as they stood beforehand, and a clock stopped at the blast
Corner B, the damagesalvaged objects and a full-scale recreation of a side wall of Urakami Cathedral
Corner C and the video roomthe history of nuclear weapons, the case for a world without them, and a search system
The National Peace Memorial Halla separate free building next door, its ground-level basin carrying some seventy thousand lights

How to actually get there

Nagasaki Station tram stop → Atomic Bomb Museum stop, on a car bound for Akasako, no change.
From the stop, up the slope on foot to the museum frontage.
Down through Corners A, B and C, then across the block to the National Peace Memorial Hall.

Tram from Nagasaki Station, no change: From the Nagasaki Station tram stop, take a car bound for Akasako and stay on it for a little over ten minutes, to the stop that carries the museum's name. Cars run frequently through the day, so there is no timetable to plan around, and no transfer to make.
Back to Nagasaki Station: From the same stop, a car in the opposite direction returns you to Nagasaki Station on the same fare. Service continues into the evening, but the last departure is posted at the stop, which is worth a glance if you stay on for the lit basin.

Directions from my location (Google Maps) ↗

About the place

The museum stands on the slope above the hypocentre, sharing its block with the Nagasaki City Peace Hall. Its street frontage is low and glazed. The entrance lobby sits one floor below the road, and the permanent exhibition one floor below that, so visitors walk down rather than up from the door to the first case. Nagasaki City runs it, and the collection is the city's own: objects recovered from the ruins, photographs, and documents tracing how the bomb came to be dropped. A library, a peace study room, a shop and a café share the lobby floor.

How to enjoy it

The doors open at 8:30, and that first hour is the calmest stretch of the day, before the school parties come through. Leave time to cross to the Peace Memorial Hall afterwards. Its basin is lit from 16:30, so a late-afternoon visit ends on water and light rather than on the last display case.

Background & history

The bomb detonated over the Urakami valley at 11:02 on the morning of 9 August 1945. Nagasaki had been showing material from the bombing long before the present building opened in April 1996. In July 2003 the state added the National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims immediately beside it. The municipal record and the national act of remembrance now stand on one plot.

Before you go

Cash: Admission to the permanent exhibition was 200 yen for visitors aged fifteen and over when checked, and free for high-school age and under. The National Peace Memorial Hall beside it charges nothing. The tram accepts both cash and IC cards, though the transfer discount applies to cashless payment only.
Good to know: Closing time moves with the season: 17:30 from September through April, 18:30 from May through August, and 20:00 on the ninth of August and the two days before it. Last admission is thirty minutes before closing. The museum is shut from 29 to 31 December.
Another way: By bus from Nagasaki Station, services toward Nameshi, Togitsu, Nagayo or Menoto call at Hamaguchi-machi, close to the building. Arriving straight from Nagasaki Airport, the limousine bus sets down at Peace Park, a short walk along the ridge.
After you get off: From the tram stop, cross to the museum side and follow the slope up past the frontage sign; about five minutes on foot. An outdoor lift and a covered ramp connect the car park to the building for anyone avoiding steps.