The Hiroshima Tram 653: boarding a survivor of the atomic bomb

Hiroshima now offers a unique guided tour aboard tramcar #653, one of the few vehicles to have survived the atomic bombing of August 6, 1945. A truly hands-on way to touch history.

A Vehicle That Has Traveled Through History

On August 6, 1945, the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima (広島) instantly killed tens of thousands of people and nearly flattened the entire city. Amid the chaos, a few trams operating on the Hiroshima Electric Railway network survived—including tramcar No. 653 (ろくごさん, roku-go-san), which has since become one of the city’s symbols of resilience.

Hiroshima now offers a tourist circuit called « Peace Loop 653 »—a guided tour aboard this historic tram, available for a limited time.

Why Is This Tram So Special?

The Hiroshima tram network (広島電鉄, Hiroshima Dentetsu) resumed service just three days after the August 6 bombing, on a still-operational section of the line. This rapid restart—when the city lay in ruins—was seen by survivors as a vital sign of life. The trams of that era became silent witnesses to extraordinary resilience.

Tramcar No. 653 is one of the few surviving vehicles from that generation still capable of running. Boarding it is literally stepping into a space that existed on the morning of August 6, 1945.

The “Peace Loop 653”: How to Participate

This limited-time circuit connects Hiroshima’s past and present—the bomb, the reconstruction, and the contemporary city of peace. Visitors to the city looking to go beyond the Peace Memorial (原爆ドーム, Genbaku Dōmu—the Atomic Bomb Dome, a UNESCO World Heritage Site) will find a deeply different experience: immersive, understated, and rooted in the daily life of a city that chose to live with its history rather than fully museumify it.

For dates and reservations, SoraNews24 directs readers to the official websites of Hiroshima City and Hiroshima Dentetsu.