Residents in the Japanese city of Hiroshima are commemorating the 70th anniversary of the first atomic bomb being dropped by a US aircraft.
A ceremony, attended by PM Shinzo Abe, was held at Hiroshima's memorial park before thousands of lanterns are released on the city's Motoyasu river.
A US B-29 bomber called the Enola Gay dropped the uranium bomb, exploding some 600m (1,800ft) above the city, at around 08:10 on 6 August 1945. On that day alone, at least 70,000 people are believed to have been killed.
Visiting Hiroshima? Download the eBook version of Lonely Planet's Hiroshima & Western Honshu PDF chapter from the Japan guidebook
Japan - Hiroshima & Western Honshu (Chapter)
Travellers to Western Honshū will find two contrasting coastlines. San-yō (literally ‘sunny side of the mountains’), looking out over the Inland Sea, boasts the bigger cities, the narrow-laned portside and hillside towns, ceramic history and the bullet train. On the other side of the dividing Chūgoku mountain range, San-in is all about an unhurried pace, onsen villages that see few foreigners, historic sites, wind-battered coastlines and great hospitality.
Coverage includes: Hiroshima & around, Miyajima, Iwakuni, Tomo-no-ura, Onomichi, Islands on the Shimanami Kaidō, Okayama & around, Bizen, Kurashiki, Shōdo-shima, Naoshima, Teshima, Kasaoka Islands, Yamaguchi & around, Akiyoshi-dai, Tsuwano, Shimonoseki, Hagi, Matsue & around, Oki Islands, Izumo, Iwami Ginzan, Yunotsu, Tottori & around, Daisen, and San-in Coast National Park.
Don’t forget the offer of 3 for 2 across all formats
A ceremony, attended by PM Shinzo Abe, was held at Hiroshima's memorial park before thousands of lanterns are released on the city's Motoyasu river.
A US B-29 bomber called the Enola Gay dropped the uranium bomb, exploding some 600m (1,800ft) above the city, at around 08:10 on 6 August 1945. On that day alone, at least 70,000 people are believed to have been killed.
Japan - Hiroshima & Western Honshu (Chapter)
Travellers to Western Honshū will find two contrasting coastlines. San-yō (literally ‘sunny side of the mountains’), looking out over the Inland Sea, boasts the bigger cities, the narrow-laned portside and hillside towns, ceramic history and the bullet train. On the other side of the dividing Chūgoku mountain range, San-in is all about an unhurried pace, onsen villages that see few foreigners, historic sites, wind-battered coastlines and great hospitality.
Coverage includes: Hiroshima & around, Miyajima, Iwakuni, Tomo-no-ura, Onomichi, Islands on the Shimanami Kaidō, Okayama & around, Bizen, Kurashiki, Shōdo-shima, Naoshima, Teshima, Kasaoka Islands, Yamaguchi & around, Akiyoshi-dai, Tsuwano, Shimonoseki, Hagi, Matsue & around, Oki Islands, Izumo, Iwami Ginzan, Yunotsu, Tottori & around, Daisen, and San-in Coast National Park.
Don’t forget the offer of 3 for 2 across all formats
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