Nagasaki Bombing Story | Tour of the Atomic Hypocenter ★ ONLY in JAPAN
What exactly happened after the bomb was dropped? Hiroshima came first. 3 days later, Nagasaki — a plutonium based atomic weapon dropped and detonated at 11:02am destroying Nagasaki and Urakami Valley is also the last atomic weapon used in war. Well talk to survivors, hear their first hand story – what did it feel like, look like after?
I toured the hypocenter visiting several spots that remain today as ruins of August 9, 1945.
It’s an important message on the 80th anniversary as first hand voices of survivors gradually leave us. Their message is that we don’t repeat what happened to them.
Thank you to Yokoyama-san, Ujihara-san, Mine-san, Akino Sakaoka, NBC (Nagasaki Broadcasting) and the good people at Nihon Hidankyo, the survivor’s group for the help to produce this episode.
Nihon Hidankyo won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2024 for their work of spreading peace through sharing their experience of the Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
00:00 Atomic Bomb Dropped
01:36 Then & Now
02:07 Nagasaki Bomb Tour Guide
03:08 Toxic Water
03:55 Map of Hypocenter
04:08 Survivor at Isahaya (Ujihara-san)
06:46 Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum
07:42 Air Raid Shelters
08:44 What the bomb looked like
10:00 Atomic Bomb Rescue Trains
13:52 One-Legged Torii Gate (Sanno)
14:27 Burnt trees
14:43 Urakami Cathedral
16:36 Shiroyama School
18:08 Atomic Bomb Damage to Humans
19:33 First Photos / Journalist in Nagasaki
20:15 Radiation burns
22:19 Survivor Discrimination
22:53 Second Generation
24:14 Nagasaki Story after Survivors: Legacy
26:08 How Survivors Coped After the Bomb
26:55 Nihon Hidankyo wins Peace Prize
#nagasaki #hiroshima
49 Comments
I love Japan have visited 3 times but I think a lot of history has been swept under the carpet in Japan to save face especially their political elite who have continuously denied war crimes.
These bombs ended the Asian holocaust perpetrated by the Japanese imperial forces that cruelly massacred hundreds of thousands of civilians, non combatant military personnel etc across the South Pacific and in Nanking China. Not to mention the institutionalised comfort women and forced rapes. Sadly the Japanese civilians paid the ultimate price for the barbaric war crimes that their brainwashed brothers and fathers committed and that their leaders would not surrender. But now all this attention and education focuses on these bombs and sadly diverts attention from the real massacres and war crimes that led to these bombs. Dont take my word for it, read some history. Books like – “Sister Viv” by Grantlee Kieza which documents Australian nurses imprisoned and massacred by the Japanese imperial forces near Singapore or Laurence Rees “Horror in the East”.
You did such a great job on this John. The pain that you can feel in these survivors hearts is so strong. This made me tear up more than once. I hope one day this world truly becomes one and everyone can live in peace. How strong those who survived had to be their entire lives after the events is phenomenal. I've been watching you for over 10 years and I have to say this is one of your most prolific works. Thank you for helping keep this memory alive so we don't forget how horrible nuclear war is and how it affects people. Much love to you John.
Thank you 🙏
I knew quite a bit about Hiroshima bombing but not about Nagasaki (I mean extremely scarcely). When Nagasaki bombing is discussed. It is usually just in passing. This is the first time i learned about it so comprehensively. Peace is so important, really.
I've never heard anyone pronounce the "Marianas" that way. Merry-ah-na-s, not Marine-ahs.
Excellent work on a very difficult subject. It’s so important to remember history to prevent these horrors from occurring again. Thank you for your hard work & for spreading peace. 💞💞💞
Thank you so much for this video. Visiting Nagasaki 9 years ago as a 20 year old had an immense impact on my view of the world – geopolitically, but also on my broader view of humanity, kindness and unity. I think anyone visiting either the Nagasaki or the Hiroshima memorials, will feel a similar deep impact on themselves, so I am extremely grateful for all the people that put in the work to build, maintain and promote these very important places and memories.
Such an important lesson to remember. I wish all the simpletons blindly marching us towards war would stop to think about this.
One thing that I really cannot shake is the fact society shunned the survivors. They didn't ask for it, but society punished them.
Thank you for the documentary!
I was in Hiroshima Peace Park earlier this year and can only recommend to visit it. Two of the things I took away was: never forget, never again.
What an monstrosity these bombings were…
Thank you for making such impactful videos about the historical bomb stories. In 2019 , I was privileged to visit Nagasaki and Hiroshima, however, was only able to walk around the Genbaku in Hiroshima , soul chilling was the only way i could think of describing it. These facts do need to be retold so it is never forgotten. again, many thanks for the videos.
At 0:12 Northern Mariana Islands, John. Not Marinas. That said, a story that must be told and retold. Just saw you live video and see you corrected yourself. All good!
I visited several years ago and with your video my understanding and sympathies are so much greater now. Thank you for your time and efforts.
I’m disappointed by the comments some supposedly American viewers have left here. The victims were civilians. People like you and I. In war, there are no winners.
The worst single war crimes in history. The book Black Rain is well worth reading. Very sad, but brilliant.
Very educational program 🥲👍❤️. Thank you 🙏
In the early 70s my father was stationed with the US Navy in Sasebo. I was still in grade school (at the E.J.King school) when we took a trip to Nagasaki. I still have clear mental images of some of the photos in the museum. Years later I read "Sachiko: A Nagasaki Bomb Survivor's Story". I have always been deeply moved by the plight of the Japanese who lived through that time. Thank you for sharing this video. I am reminded of the famous saying, "those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it." I pray we never forget the hard lessons forged in the many conflicts of the 20th century. So many lives lost. So many.
John this vblog was amazing. Congratulations.
As I commented on the related live stream:
"Watching the Nagasaki Video, one word that comes to mind is "impactful." I again reflect back to the reading as a student of John Hersey's "Hiroshima" in which he told the story of Hiroshima through interviews with its survivors. It is amazing to realize that 79 years after his writing you have been able to replicate that effort with the accounts of living survivors.IMHO your effort equals his with regard to both Hiroshima and now Nagasaki. Your empathy and insights are most appreciated as you share with us their stories and the emotional connections that you have experienced."
Reading the comments here it is apparent that so many agree in recognizing the significant effort you have put into making this impactful video and as you noted the effort was not just for us, but for Leo and all of our progeny. Thanks!
USA has never made an apologized 😅😢
Thank you for making this video. The message needs to be heard especially in countries where people don't ever hear what devastation nuclear war causes on innocent civilians as history books gloss over war and increasingly the stories are even being erased as well.
Thank you John for sharing this important story.
First time I've listened to the stories of people who survived the bomb. Very humbling. Thank you, John.
Thank you for this presentation; it is a reminder that this must not happen again. As the world becomes more fragmented because of petty differences, we loom closer to its repeat. I hope that the legacy of the hardships endured by the survivors is a constant reminder of what happened eighty years ago can happen again.
Thank you for this video John. So important to tell the stories while there are stories still to be told.
I visited the museum in 1994, I was 21 (was visiting while I was serving in the Navy) and that visit to the museum changed my life. I’ll never forget that day.
John, I grew up in Hawai'i, where Pearl Harbor brought the U.S. into WWII. Growing up, I thought it would be fitting to visit Nagasaki, the big event that ended the war. Last year, my wife and I did just that. We spent hours at the bomb museum watching video testimonies from survivors that really made an impact on both of us. I didn't know about the one legged Torii gate or we would have visited it too. Thank you for additional viewpoints from 80 years ago. Also, Nagasaki is a beautiful city and we enjoyed our time visiting such a special place.
Thanks for covering and bringing back the history as well as devastation events of war.✌️
Thank you!
ジョンさん本当にありがとう。被爆者の方から直接聞けることの意味はとても大きいと思う。
終戦から80年、これから先の世代はもっと教科書に出てくる歴史上の遠い出来事のような感覚になってしまうかもしれない。
この悲劇を経験した人と同じ時を今生きてる私たちは、後世に伝えなければならないと思う。
長く日本に住んで、ここがホームだと言ってくれているジョンさんの想いが伝わり本当に嬉しい思いです。
Thank you for making great video👍
Really important video to remember Nagasaki whose story is often hidden behind the equally terrible experience of Hiroshima. Another landmark video.
At least your alive,not like 95 percent of the people that your countrymen got their grubby little hands on.
It's incredibly important to keep the stories and message alive. Over time I'm more convinced this was a war crime of unthinkable scale. We in Europe are in the first war for territory conquest since the 2nd world war. People are always capable of cruelty and disregard for other humans if they think it's justified or there are no consequences.
Something that should never happen again, So good that the survivors are able to share their story with the rest of the world. Fantastic video John, much respect to you and the survivors. 🙏
Thank you so much for telling this important story to the world. Well done. I shared the video with the people living in Nagasaki, too.
One can only dream of looking so healthy at 95. Most of us won't nearly make it to that age at all.
Wow. Thank you for this episode it was something that needs to be told and remembered. Hearing the stories from the people that were there was touching. Thank you.
Sad, true, needed to stop the war, my father was a teenager living in China during the war, he cried every time we talked about WWII, he sighed every time, he felt sorry for the Japanese, but he told us that there's so much suffering and destitute that everyone wanted the war to end. God bless all of the people who need comfort and peace in mind. May there be no war in future.
😢Touching and may the victims rest eternally in peace. Thanks for the very touching tribute, John.
Love the video you did on Nagasaki. You did an amazing job on this John. Hope this teaches a lot of people and they can learn more about what happened and the aftermath.
Bravo, John. Bravo.
Flood of bomb videos, but handful limited video about Japan war crime during WW2. 30 millions human being, mostly civilians were killed by Japanese army.
Thank you for this video John. I visited Nagasaki and Hiroshima in 1995, something I will never forget 😢
thank you for taking us with you. i love learning history this is awesome video .
thank you for covering not just Hiroshima but also Nagasaki since as the other commenter said, Nagasaki is often overlooked when a topic about the atomic bomb is being discussed and also, most importantly, thank you for sharing the story of the survivors with us. also nice timing, its the 80th Anniversary of Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
How do you reserve a tour by a guide, in English?
History teaches us a lot of things and as we learn and reflect, the peace that we enjoy today is hard earned. Hats off to u John for putting all these together. My prayers to those who lost their loved ones.
Thank you John for the Nagasaki portion of what happened when/with the 2nd bomb drop and never again with such senseless destruction happen in my/our life time and for future generation to come. In general, no more war, us human being all should re-evaluate our self how we can come together and make progress than war. If we come together and make progress, we all could have gone beyond the stars and utilize the "power" for good than destruction!
America targeted these civilian populations …. whilst Japan were in the middle of surrendering as the Soviets were also approaching !!!!!