Hiroshima

Our boss Fumi and her husband took us to Hiroshima and Miyajima for a day trip. Besides the peace park, we also visited the peace museum and learned a lot more about WWII and the nuclear bomb from the Japanese's point of view.

A picture of a peace monument. There were also origami cranes EVERYWHERE around the park representing peace.

Mike and I are about to ring the peace bell.

Japanese students walking down the streets in Hiroshima. I dig the school uniform look and the way girls giggle and cover their mouths because it's kawaii.

Me next to a HUGE plant at the peace park.

Me, Mike, Shigeyoshi, and Fumi.

This dome building was one of the few buildings left standing after the nuclear bomb hit the city. The Japanese people never tore it down and it has remained in this state since the bombing as a reminder of the devastation of war.

Our Second Trip to Hiroshima

Our first trip to Hiroshima took place in autumn and our second one took place shortly after spring had ended, right about the time the weather was starting to get unbearably hot.

This is the Hiroshima Castle from afar and the mote surrounding it.

Castle from close up.

Inside the castle dressed in old style Japanese garb.

Mike playing on the castle grounds. It looks as if he's practicing some martial arts.

The usual gate symbolizing a shrine or temple.

Hiroshima style okonomiyaki. This kind has Japanese noodles inside.

We went to a professional Japanese baseball game. Tokyo Giants vs. Hiroshima Carp. Baseball is one of the most popular sports in Japan.

The baseball stadium.

Our good friend Jason and his students who drove us to Hiroshima. The one on the end is drinking root beer (very hard to find in most Japanese cities) and not liking it at all. It turns out that very few Japanese people who have tried root beer actually like it because they think it tastes like medicine.

We loved cheering in the bleachers.

At one point during the game everybody let their balloons deflate and it looked like this.