Discovering Hiroshima.

Back in August, Matt and I traveled to Hiroshima.  We both felt that it was important to visit the city before we left Japan.  We wanted to learn more about that day, the time leading up to it, and the aftermath of the atomic bomb.  We visited the Peace Memorial Park and the Peace Memorial Museum.  We read first-hand accounts, saw pictures and models of the destruction, and learned about steps that the city of Hiroshima has taken to ensure that peace prevails throughout the world.  It was an eye-opening experience for us and one that we will not forget.  

Hiroshima is known for okonomiyaki.  It is kind of a pancake-like meal with cabbage and noodles.
You can also include squid, oysters, etc.  It is topped with a delicious sauce.  I have no idea what it is, but it is so good.   

A-Bomb Dome, also known as the Hiroshima Peace Memorial.
This is what remains of the former Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall.
It is one of the only buildings that was still standing after the bomb.
It remains almost exactly as it stood that day.
Only minor work to make sure it is stable has been done on the building.  

 

Peace Bell.
The hope is that the sound will resonate throughout the world as a sound of peace. 

Paper cranes sent from people around the world to symbolize peace.

Flame of Peace in front of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.
The flame has burned continuously since August 1, 1964 and will burn until all nuclear weapons have disappeared from the world.

Memorial Monument.
According to the Hiroshima Virtual Museum, the stone chest in the center holds the registry of the names of persons who died from the bombing (that day or after), regardless of nationality.  As of August 6, 2014 there were 292,325 names and a volume with many unidentified.

As seen at Hiroshima Castle.
I have no idea what it says, but I just love Japanese characters.

Hiroshima Castle.
The Castle was destroyed by the atomic bomb, but has been reconstructed.

Mazda "Zoom Zoom" Stadium

Kind of a seventh inning stretch type of tradition where interesting-shaped balloons are released into the air.
I have seen this done at multiple stadiums in Japan and may have released a few myself.

We took a ferry to Miyajima Island and luckily got off right before my seasickness set in.

Wild deer roam all around Miyajima.

Clearly people terrify them.

Itsukushima Shrine, also known as the floating torii gate (at least at high tide).

Who doesn't love a snow cone where you can pour the syrup freely?!
I was tempted to try tomato.

Crafty pumpkins.

It’s the season of everything pumpkin!  You know what that means, time to break out the paint and glitter.  Here are some recent pumpkin crafts that happened over here (Pinterest-inspired).

I applied two coats of flat white spray-paint to these guys.  After letting them dry overnight, I stenciled on the letters.  Next, I brushed on regular Elmer’s glue and let the glitter fall. 

I do these pumpkins every year because I love how they look and it is super easy.  Just spray the top of the pumpkin with spray adhesive and pour glitter over it. 

Happy crafting!

Discovering Guam.

I recently had an eventful little trip to Guam.  In just six days I fit in a few dates with Matt, snorkeling, five different plane departure times, as many hamburgers and pumpkin spice lattes that I could squeeze into a day, a cousin meet up, a typhoon, my first Brazilian steak house, and a few Guam beers.  What I didn’t fit in was time to take pictures.  Here is what I got for you.

PS – Guam is beautiful.

Wouldn't be a post about the beach without a feet in the sand pic, right?!

Clearly we had beach weather the entire trip.

Sumo wrestling.

When I was living in America and heard about Japan two things came to mind – sushi and sumo.  I have already experienced the sushi, but until a couple of weeks ago had missed out on sumo.  Sumo tournaments are only held a couple of times throughout the year around Japan and tickets can be hard to get because they sell out quickly.  So I enlisted the help of my Japanese friend and she was able to get her hands on two tickets.   

Here is what I saw and learned (through a combination of watching the tournament and reading Wikipedia).

This has nothing to do with sumo - I just thought it was so neat.
Kind of like a food truck, but not.

Sumo flags leading up to the stadium.

Pre-sumo parade.  It should be noted that it was HOT!

Finally got tickets!

Pictures with the champ...and some cartoon characters, naturally

The preparation for the bout often took way more time than the actual bout.
The wrestlers greet each other (I don't actually know that this is what they are doing, but in mind, it works) three times.

More greeting.

The actual wrestling often lasted less than a minute.
I saw one bout that took about 5 seconds.

The tournament lasts 15 days - starting and ending on a Sunday.  The champion wrestlers each have one bout per day.

The referee calls the match, but there are also judges around the ring (dohyo).
The man in black is a judge.

These are the higher-ranked wrestlers.

This is one of the sumo champions.
He shimmied up those white markings. 

The wrestlers throw salt into the ring in order to purify it.

More wrestling.

The bout ends when one of the wrestlers steps outside the ring or touches the ground with anything other than his feet.

The higher-ranked wrestlers have sponsors for each of their bouts.  Each of these flags represents $300 that will be presented to the winner of the bout.  Before each bout, the flags would be marched around the ring.
I saw it get up to almost $10,000 for a bout.