Hiroshima Peace Memorial and Other Fun Times

The weekend came and went too fast, but we did manage to visit the Atomic Dome/Hiroshima Peace Memorial. I wanted to stay there a lot longer but when you have a 5-year-old with no attention span who's still adjusting to life on the other side of the world...well, you know.

The dome before the bomb circa 1930

It's one of the few buildings still standing from the atomic bomb. It took a few years for Japan to decide they wanted to turn it into a memorial. So many wanted the reminder gone.

It's a jarring sight. One you can't soon forget. To stand there and contemplate that only a few decades ago the destructive force of the atomic bomb ripped this city apart and the people within. Horrifying but one that's stands as a reminder for peace.

I'll definitely find times to come here by myself to truly contemplate what this means.

What the sign said about the dome.

We headed around the rest of the park and found other statues and memorials for peace.








We then found the bell for peace. We each rang it. And Gabe did so very loudly!

Then we found the Jizo statue that still has the atomic shadow created from the blast.












Japan loves origami and they create some pretty amazing art out of it. All of these pictures are of tiny origami cranes made into beautiful works of art, all for peace.

This is just a taste of their amazing vending machines that you can find on every corner! You need water! Boom. Coffee? hot or cold? juice, soda...some even have beer.

Gabe got pretty bored and tired after an hour or so but he was a trooper and kept at it!

The rest of the day we spent at the Aeon Mall. It has a really nice dollar store, Toys R Us, a big grocery store with other department store type things on other floors, and good food. We ventured on the trains. Archie knows a lot of Japanese and is getting better as time goes on. So he can ask for train tickets and order our food. I'm not there yet, but look forward to the day when I can.

Sunday was a relaxing day of bill paying and paper work and puzzles, TV watching, okonomiyaki! and just chilling.

We should be getting into our apartment on Friday. And hopefully our resident visas will come through within the next couple of weeks so we can get cell phones and other things.

The next big daring adventure will be to learn to drive on the left side of the road. Archie tried it from work with his boss who's been driving here for awhile and with Gabe and me from his boss's house to our hotel. It was pretty nerve-racking!

We are all looking forward to our own space and routine again! We've been going a bit crazy living out of suitcases and in hotels.