Tragedy has turned Hiroshima, the main city of the Chugoku Region on Japan's main island of Honshu, into the country's most famous tourist attraction. On 6 August 1945 the unfortunate city became the first ever target of an atomic bomb. Early in the morning three United States B-29 bombers flew in from the northeast; one dropped its deadly ordnance over the centre of the city, leaving a mushroom cloud that darkened the sky while more than 200,000 civilians died. Today thousands of visitors make a pilgrimage to Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park, marvelling at the lively modern city that has overcome its tragedy to become the thriving home to more than a million people. Not surprisingly the city has become vehemently engaged in the promotion of peace. Visitors are drawn mainly to the Peace Memorial Park and its museum, but the rebuilt city is an attractive place to visit in its own right, criss-crossed by rivers and wide avenues and containing several good museums. Nearby are some of Japan's most scenic excursion destinations.

Peace Memorial Park

Address: 1-2 Nakajima-cho, Naka-ku Hiroshima

Admission: ¥50 (adult), ¥30 (child) Museum daily 8.30am to 6pm (March to November); 8.30am to 7pm (August); 8.30am to 5pm (December to February)

Telephone: Museum: (0)82 242 7798

Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art

Address: Hijiyama Koen Hiroshima

Admission: ¥360 (adults), ¥270 (students), ¥170 (scholars) Tuesday to Sunday 10am to 5pm

Telephone: (0)82 264 1121

Hiroshima Castle

Address: 21-1 Motomachi, Naka-ku Hiroshima

Admission: Castle tower: ¥360 (adults), ¥160 (children). Castle grounds free Daily 9am to 5.30pm; 9am to 4.30pm (October to March)

Telephone: (0)82 221 7512

Miyajima

Address: Hiroshima

Admission: ¥300 Itsukushima Shrine: daily 6.30am to 6pm

Telephone: (0)82 944 0008

Sandankyo Gorge

Address: Hiroshima