Hiroshima's Streetcars

Above, a streetcar in a Nagasaki streetcar station. Similar streetcars operate in Hiroshima. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Back in 2007, I visited Nagasaki, Japan, the second city that an atomic bomb was dropped on. One of the first things I noticed about Nagasaki were its streetcars. Those streetcars reminded me of pre-1963 Los Angeles, when the city still had streetcars. The last L.A. streetcar was removed in 1963. I was nine when that last streetcar was removed, so I am old enough to remember them.

On occasion, the old L.A. streetcar tracks can be seen when the asphalt that covers them crack open, exposing the old tracks.

Gaijinpot.com has an interesting article on the streetcars of the first atomic-bombed city, Hiroshima.

It begins with:

One of the first things people notice when visiting Hiroshima are the streetcars. Chugging through the streets among cars, pedestrians, and cyclists, it adds character to the city. As a tourist, taking the street car was an adventure, but I did notice that it was a bit slow. I was amused with the thought of how a society that is always on the go was able to put up with some of the transportation’s inefficiencies.

Why does Hiroshima still have the slow-moving streetcars? The article states that one of the first things that recovered after the bombing were Hiroshima's streetcars. They were used to transport injured people and important supplies to different points in the city. Today in Hiroshima, the streetcar is a symbol of the city's recovery, so removing them would be unheard of.

I didn't see any streetcars in Hiroshima when I visited there in 2004. Perhaps it was because our tour buses didn't come near any streetcar stops.

To read the article, go here.