Aioi Bridge

photo by Christophe95 · CC BY-SA 4.0

The Enola Gay's aiming point because of its T shape: missed by 300 m, rebuilt in 1983.

The bridge widens into a T where the Motoyasu splits into two branches, and it was for that shape, recognisable from above, that it was chosen as the aiming point for the bombing, says the Peace Memorial Museum's fact sheet. The bomb exploded 300 metres further on, above Shima Hospital. You cross today's bridge, rebuilt on 2 November 1983, walking towards the Genbaku Dome, 110 metres away.

Aioi Bridge joins the two banks of the Motoyasu at the point where the river forks; its T shape, rare and recognisable from above, makes it the aiming point chosen for the bombing of 6 August 1945, according to the official fact sheet of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum: the bomb explodes 300 metres to the east, above Shima Hospital. The bridge then standing, completed on 11 December 1932, is damaged by the explosion but stays in use until its reconstruction, completed on 2 November 1983.

ℹ️ Public bridge, always open to cross on foot and by car, with no opening hours or ticket. You pass this way going from the centre to the Genbaku Dome, 110 metres away on the opposite bank.

🚉 Genbaku Dome-mae · 2 min walk

Sources: hpmmuseum.jp

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