Kure is a city located about 45 minutes away from Hiroshima Station by car. Kure is the second oldest naval dockyard in Japan, and is known for its shipbuilding prowess which culminated in the construction of the Yamato, the world’s largest battleship, in 1940. Although sunk in World War II, the battleship is immortalized as a 1:10 scale model located in the Yamato Museum, which also exhibits hundreds of pieces of wartime materials. You can also take a tour of a Self-Defense Force Battleship and have your own naval battle experience.

More history can be explored at the Irifuneyama Memorial Museum. The iconic clock tower lies along the path leading to the Former Residence of Commander-in-Chief of the Kure Naval Station. The residence is a combination of Western and Japanese architecture, and some of the walls and ceilings were crafted using rare Kinkara-kami (gold embossed paper). The museum contains several important documents and articles detailing Kure’s crucial role in World War II.