Postcard from Hiroshima

Current City:  Hiroshima

Hiroshima made me feel so reflective.  I'm from Hawaii originally and had heard a number of stories about life on the Islands during WWII.  My grandpa was really young at the time and told us that he was once held at gunpoint.  He was out past curfew.  An officer had thought he was Japanese.  My grandpa couldn't speak really great English at the time, but was saved by one of the friends he had made at the next-door fire station.

All of my grandparents would tell us stories about the blackouts.  They would cover their windows and light candles so that all the Islands were invisible to attacking bombers.

This trip to Hiroshima truly gave me the other perspective.

Peace Park

Atomic Bomb Dome

Bell of Peace

Origami Cranes

Clothing, found after the A-bomb, displayed at the Peace Memorial Museum

A watch capturing the time the A-bomb hit

Hiroshima before the A-bomb

Hiroshima after the A-bomb

Feeling very reflective...

Amazing Finds: Japanese Sweet Shop

Current City:  Hiroshima

We had a lovely experience riding the Shinkansen over to Hiroshima.  I can understand why kids love the bullet train so much.  It is the excitement of riding such an amazingly fast train!  It is the excitement of entering an exclusive train platform!  It is the excitement of watching Japan fly by in minutes rather than hours!  I can also see why parents buy Shinkansen paraphernalia for their kids...it is so incredibly cute to own a "cute-ified" plushy keychain.  

When we first touched down in Hiroshima, we did some exploring of the streets and stumbled upon an amazing Japanese sweet shop!

Memories of Honolulu came back to me!  I remember going into Daiei or the Holiday Mart and hanging out in the candy section.  The most fun candies were from Japan.  It was mind boggling to discover that some of these candies still existed!  

Such a nostalgic moment for me.  

Does anyone else remember these sweet?