Afternoon in Hiroshima

We spent this afternoon in Hiroshima, visiting the Peace Memorial Park and the Peace Memorial Museum.  We fielded lots of questions (most of which we didn't have answers to) on our way to Hiroshima, and I was thrilled to see that most, if not all, of their questions were answered.  They will blog tomorrow about their impressions, so check back on senakids.blogspot.com soon for that.


We were approached before we walked into the Museum by two women asking if we were tourists. One woman then explained that her great-grandfather had been killed in the attack, and that her grandmother had only survived because she had a stomach ache and hadn't gone into town that morning.  As a survivor, she (and all Hiroshima survivors - called hibakusha) are given free health care for the rest of their lives by the Japanese government. We peppered her with questions until she started telling us that as Jehovah's Witnesses, they are guaranteed eternal peace - seemed like a good time to say thank you and explain that we had to rush into the Museum to beat the crowds!

From the Peace Memorial Park - one of the only reminders of pre-bomb Hiroshima is the A-Bomb Dome:

In all honesty, I was a bit tentative about bringing the kids there - not that I didn't want them to learn about the history, but I was worried that it might overwhelm them a bit, and that uncomfortableness would translate into silliness. I shouldn't have been worried.  They were horrified, fascinated, interested, and somber.  We got them each a headset and let them wander through at their own pace - helpful for all of us, so that each could focus on the areas most interesting to us.


The museum is incredibly well done, especially from the perspective of an American. While I visited Hiroshima years ago with my family, I didn't remember the museum well, and I wasn't sure if we would feel defensive/admonished/guilty while there. In fact, the museum felt very welcoming. It was clear from the start that they have built this museum not just to remember those killed and injured in the attack, but more so to promote peace and the hope that atomic bombs won't be dropped again.

It was hard not to be sobered by the pictures and the models of before and after in Hiroshima:

Hiroshima was picked as the place to drop the bomb (out of 4 options the US considered) because it was the biggest city that hadn't yet been bombed, so they were able to measure the damage more accurately.  It had been a highly populated city, and the regrowth into a city dedicated to peace is really both startling and inspiring.

We saw many, many groups of students visiting the museum.

When we left the museum, we talked while walking to a local park to let the kids kick a soccer ball around.  The conversation was terrific - lots of questions about foreign policy, different reasons for war, why our relationship with other countries is oftentimes complicated, and some pretty impressive questions and insight from the kids on war and peace.  Their teachers would have been proud - we sure were.

Japanese Family

On our way from Tokyo to Osaka, we were lucky to spend a night with Yoshie's (Emily's sister in law) family in Toyohashi, near Nagoya.  The kids were thrilled to have 5 kids to play with, ranging in age from 2 to 10.  Quick recap of a really fun 24 hours:

Celebrating with Masaki (Yoshie's brother) when his "team" beat a world record by building the worlds largest castle out of beer cans.   Luke is now insisting we have to buy the next edition of the Guinness Book of World Records to see it in there.

We came back to their house for a delicious make-your-own-sushi dinner, and then the kids lit fireworks in the front yard.  Nothing like a 2 year old walking around with giant sparklers in his hand to cause all sorts of excitment.

Brian spent the next day golfing (ahem, drinking) with Ishihara-San, while the rest of us visited an amazing adventure/ropes course that all the kids (and some of the adults) climbed all over.

The kids were sad to say goodbye to their "new" cousins.  While the pic below looks like a typical Sunday night dinner in San Mateo, it is really Sunday night in Toyohashi, with the Ishihara clan: Chiharu, Takala, Chikala, Haruna, and Sora.

Tokyo Days

Tokyo was our first stop on our world tour, so we spent time both getting used to the time change, but also trying to get used to the travelling life. Highlights included, in no particular order:

1) Our neighborhood (Omotesando). We lived in a little alley off a main shopping area and the kids loved getting to know the neighborhood there. We even let them take off for an hour on our last morning, just wandering the streets (and apparently getting free chocolate from the shopkeepers!)

2) Vending machines. They are everywhere, but almost never with food...always drinks, both hot and cold. Brian and I have foregone  our Starbucks habit for a Boss habit....cheaper, and always within about 20 feet of wherever we are.

3) The Food.... I could do many posts just about the food, but our favorites were the ramen (note: don't order 5 bowls for 5 people....way too much food!), the sushi boat restaurant, and our morning breakfasts of bento and onigiri from Family Mart (the 24/7 minimart with locations everywhere).

4) Dinner with the Sekiguchis.  On our first real night in Tokyo, our friend Heather (minus her husband Shuhei who was in the US last week) and son Kaito hosted us for dinner in their apartment in Setagaya. While we were sad to miss Shuhei, we enjoyed getting the chance to have a traditional Japanese dinner of gyoza and okonomiyake with Heather and Kaito.  They were fantastic hosts, and made our first night in Tokyo perfect!

5) Shibuya Crossing. We aren't sure if it is actually the world's busiest crossing, but it sure was fun to cross the streets there (many times). For those who haven't seen videos of it, cars come from many different directions, but all have red lights at the same time, so hundreds of people cross the street each time. Especially fun to watch from the Starbucks above Shibuya at night.

6) The super cute panda at the Tokyo Zoo. We would have spent more time ogling over this ridiculously cute animal, but the security guard allowed approximately 5 seconds of viewing per person before insisting that we keep moving.

Goooood Morning Tokyo!

All three kids picked out a yummy Japanese breakfast. Already eating things they would never eat at home. Lets hope it isn't just the honeymoon phase.