Guide · Culture
Hiroshima and Nagasaki museums: hours, fees, booking and closures
Adults pay about $1 (¥200) at each museum. Nagasaki's Section C is closed from 24 November 2026 to about March 2027; Hiroshima closes 15 to 20 February 2027.
Plan around three dated changes. Section C of the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum’s permanent exhibition is closed from 24 November 2026 to about March 2027, the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum is closed from 15 to 20 February 2027 for an exhibit change, and both museums close at the end of December. Adult entry is $1 (¥200) at each, reported for Hiroshima.
The Hiroshima museum is in Chugoku and the Nagasaki museum is in Kyushu. The wider timeline is in Taisho and Showa and the history guide, and the page sits in the Culture hub.
What happened in August 1945?
The atomic bombings of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945 and Nagasaki on 9 August 1945 came before the surrender announcement on 15 August 1945. The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum states in its virtual exhibit that about 140,000 people had died by the end of December 1945, and it calls this an estimate. No figure from Nagasaki’s museum or city was found.
The 1945 dates sit in a longer sequence, from the Manchuria incident of 1931 to the Allied occupation of 1945 to 1952. Taisho and Showa gives that sequence.
How do the two museums compare?
Both charge adults about $1 (¥200) and open in the morning. Hiroshima closes by season, and Nagasaki’s closing time is less certain.
| Detail | Hiroshima | Nagasaki |
|---|---|---|
| Adult fee | $1 (¥200), reported | $1 (¥200) |
| Students | High school $1 (¥100); junior high and younger free | High school and younger free with ID |
| Opens | 07:30 | 08:30 |
| Closes | 18:00 to 20:00 by season | 17:30, per one 2026 report |
| Last entry | 30 minutes before closing | Not found |
| Booking | Online for early and evening slots | Combined ticket sold online |
Dollar figures use about ¥155 to US$1 and are rounded; you pay in yen, so check the rate.
Hiroshima’s fees come from secondary listings; its official hours page is the source for everything else in that column. Visitors aged 65 and over are reported at $1 (¥100) in Hiroshima with ID.
What are Hiroshima’s hours by season?
The museum opens at 07:30 all year and closes between 18:00 and 20:00, with later closing on 5 and 6 August. Last entry is 30 minutes before closing.
| Season | Months | Hours | Last entry |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | March to July, September to November | 07:30 to 19:00 | 18:30 |
| August | August | 07:30 to 20:00 | 19:30 |
| Winter | December to February | 07:30 to 18:00 | 17:30 |
The museum is in Peace Memorial Park. The last-entry times follow from the 30-minute rule.
How do you book?
Hiroshima needs an online reservation for early and evening time slots, and the museum’s pages disagree on the exact times. For Nagasaki, no reservation rule for entry was found, and a combined ticket with the Nagai Takashi Memorial Museum is sold online.
Before you book Read the Hiroshima museum’s reservation page for your date before an early or evening visit. Questions go to +81-82-241-4004.
Which part of the Nagasaki museum is closed?
Section C of the permanent exhibition, from 24 November 2026 to about March 2027. Section B stays mostly open, so the museum is not closed as a whole.
The museum opens at 08:30 and closes from 29 to 31 December. Its official site is in Japanese with no English hours page. One 2026 report gives 17:30 as the closing time, and last entry was not found.
Do the hours change in August?
Both museums extend their hours. Hiroshima stays open until 21:00 on 5 and 6 August, against 20:00 for the rest of the month. Nagasaki extends its hours around 7 to 9 August, per its Japanese-language site, and the times are not stated.
When are the museums closed?
Four dated changes affect 2026-27. The Hiroshima museum’s site also carries a renovation notice page titled “About Renovations”, which may list changes to exhibit areas.
| Date | What changes |
|---|---|
| 24 Nov 2026 | Nagasaki: Section C of the permanent exhibition closes |
| Year end | Hiroshima closed 30 and 31 December; Nagasaki closed 29 to 31 December |
| 15 Feb 2027 | Hiroshima closed 15 to 20 February for an exhibit change |
| March 2027 | Nagasaki: Section C expected to reopen about this time |
What else is there to see?
In Hiroshima, the Atomic Bomb Dome (Genbaku Dome) is a UNESCO World Heritage site, listed in 1996 as Hiroshima Peace Memorial. In Nagasaki, Nagasaki Peace Park and Hypocenter Park are near the museum. Fees and hours for these sites were not found.
The Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum at Mabuni, Itoman, covers the Battle of Okinawa. Its hours, fees and wording are on Ryukyu history and Okinawa.
How should you visit the memorials?
Keep your voice low, skip posed or smiling photographs at memorials and monuments, do not fly a drone and do not sit on a monument. This is tone guidance, not a rule posted at these sites, so follow the signs on the day.
Where next?
- 1945 is Showa 20 in Japan’s era count (Japanese era names).
- The Culture hub holds every culture topic.
Questions
Adults are reported at $1 (¥200), high school students at $1 (¥100), and junior high students and younger enter free. The fee comes from secondary listings, not the official hours page.
Yes, but Section C of the permanent exhibition is closed from 24 November 2026 to about March 2027. Section B stays mostly open. Adults pay $1 (¥200), and the museum opens at 08:30.
For early and evening time slots, yes: they need an online reservation, and the museum's pages disagree on the exact times. Read the reservation page before you plan an early or evening visit.
Hiroshima closes on 30 and 31 December and from 15 to 20 February 2027 for an exhibit change. Nagasaki closes from 29 to 31 December, and Section C of its permanent exhibition is closed from 24 November 2026 to about March 2027.
It opens at 07:30 and closes at 19:00 from March to July and September to November, at 20:00 in August and at 18:00 from December to February. Last entry is 30 minutes before closing.