Hiroshima tram tour traces reconstruction after atomic bombing
Passengers use tablets to view Hiroshima before the war and immediately after the bombing while travelling aboard restored streetcar No. 653.
- A new guided tour in Hiroshima uses Streetcar No. 653, which was damaged in the 1945 atomic bombing and became a symbol of the city's reconstruction.
- The tour is designed to show passengers how Hiroshima rebuilt itself after the attack, operating on weekends and holidays until October 31.
- The experience is enhanced with a guide in a 1945-style uniform and tablets displaying images of the city before the war and in the immediate aftermath of the bombing.
Streetcar No. 653 was back on Hiroshima’s tracks just four months after being damaged in the US atomic bombing, following emergency repairs.
Eighty-one years later, the same tram has become the centrepiece of a guided journey exploring how the western Japanese city rebuilt itself.
The tour began on Sunday (August 2).
Operated by Hiroshima Electric Railway Co., the tram sustained damage in the bombing on August 6, 1945, during the final days of the Second World War.
Its return to service helped make it a symbol of Hiroshima’s reconstruction.
The vehicle continues to run for special events, carrying the same livery it displayed at the time of the bombing.
A total of 19 journeys will be operated on weekends and public holidays until October 31, following a loop line that opened in March.
Each trip is accompanied by a guide wearing a uniform cap modelled on those used in 1945.
Passengers can also use tablets to view Hiroshima before the war and in the immediate aftermath of the bombing.
Satoko Yotsutsuji, 48, joined a trial journey on Sunday morning with her primary school-aged son.
“I’m astonished that the streetcar is still running after it was restored from its charred, frame-only state,” she said.
“I think this project will help children and foreign visitors learn about the reality of the atomic bombing and the city’s reconstruction efforts.”
Yoshiaki Yokota, an executive at Hiroshima Electric Railway, said: “We hope the tour offers an experience of riding a streetcar that has continued to operate since the atomic bombing, serving as a rail linking the past, the present and the future.”
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
