Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima (Hiroshima): Museum Tickets, Quiet Visits and Paper Cranes

Strings of colorful folded paper cranes hanging in a booth at the Children's Peace Monument, Hiroshima (Hiroshima) — Paper cranes offered at the Children's Peace Monument in Peace Memorial Park, Hiroshima (Hiroshima).Photo: Alymcavoy17, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped)

For many visitors, Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima (Hiroshima) is the most moving stop of a trip to Japan. Through the belongings of victims, A-bombed artifacts and survivors' testimonies, the Peace Memorial Museum conveys what a single atomic bomb did to the city. The museum has become so busy that it now sells timed web tickets, and it asks visitors to follow a few simple rules. This guide covers tickets and the quieter hours, what you may photograph, and how to offer paper cranes at the Children's Peace Monument, based on the museum's and Hiroshima City (Hiroshima)'s own pages (checked October 2026).

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Opening hours, prices and web tickets
When it is least crowded
Photos, phones, bags and food inside the museum
Offering paper cranes at the Children's Peace Monument

Tickets and opening hours

Admission is 200 yen for adults (college students and up), 100 yen for high school students, and free for junior high school students and younger. Visitors aged 65 and over pay 100 yen on showing a passport. The museum is closed on December 30 and 31 and for a few days in mid-February to change exhibits (February 15 to 20 in 2027).

Opening hours depend on the month: 7:30 to 19:00 from March to July and from September to November, 7:30 to 20:00 in August (to 21:00 on August 5 and 6), and 7:30 to 18:00 from December to February. Last entry is 30 minutes before closing. The hours and admission page has the details.

A day at the museum (March to July, September to November)

Based on the museum's top page and its web ticket flyer (checked October 2026). August and winter have different evening times.

The museum recommends buying a web ticket in advance, because buying on the day can mean a long line. The early morning hour and the last part of the evening are web ticket only and limited in number, which makes them the calmest time to visit; at other times the ticket counter and machines are also open. The museum's flyer names 11:00 to 15:00 as the most crowded hours. Even with a web ticket, you may be asked to wait when it is busy. When the museum introduced web tickets in 2024, it said they can be bought up to 90 days ahead.

Inside the museum: what's asked of visitors

Inside the museum

From the museum's "Hours and Admission" page (checked October 2026).

Photos: photos and video without flash for personal use are allowed without applying. Tripods and selfie sticks are not. The museum asks you to take special care that shutter sounds, including from phones, don't disturb others.
Quiet: please keep your voice down, and don't talk on a phone anywhere in the exhibition rooms.
Bags: large bags are not allowed in; use the coin lockers on the first floor of the East Building.
Food and smoking: eat and drink only in designated areas, such as the Visitor's Lounge on the first floor of the East Building. Smoking is not permitted anywhere in Peace Memorial Park or the museum; the designated smoking area is across Heiwa Odori Boulevard, south of the East Building.

The exhibits include photos and belongings of people who died. Take it at your own pace, and pause when you need to. For smoking rules elsewhere, see our guide to where you can and can't smoke in Japan.

Offering paper cranes at the Children's Peace Monument

The paper cranes you see across the park trace back to Sadako Sasaki, who was exposed to the bomb at the age of two and died of leukemia in 1955, folding cranes in the hope of recovering. Her death led to the Children's Peace Monument, built with donations from all over Japan. According to Hiroshima City (Hiroshima), about ten million cranes are offered there each year.

Anyone may offer cranes. They are hung in the paper crane booths beside the monument. Any paper and any color will do.
Tie them in bundles. The booths have hooks in the ceiling, so the city asks for bundles no longer than 150 cm and no wider than 25 cm, on strong string tied securely so cranes don't fall off.
Add a message if you like. Message cards are in boxes next to the booths, and the city shares photos of them on its website.
Large offerings: if you plan to offer more than 10,000 cranes, contact the city in advance. Cranes can also be mailed if you can't visit.

Quick checklist

Buy a web ticket, ideally for the first hour of the morning or the last part of the evening.
Leave large bags in the coin lockers; switch off flash and phone sounds.
Fold a few cranes before you go, and tie them on a strong string.

Going on to the island the same day? Read about the 100 yen Miyajima Visitor Tax and the deer and the tides on Miyajima (Hiroshima).

Last reviewed: October 4, 2026. Hours, web-ticket-only times and closing days can change. Please confirm on the official pages below.