The A-bomb Dome – this was a trade hall when the bomb was dropped almost directly above it, and it was one of the few buildings left standing after the blast
We took ourselves on a little trip West last week. Our first stop was Hiroshima, the city where, on this day back in 1945, the first atomic bomb was dropped. Since that horrific day Hiroshima has become a beacon for peace, and is home to a museum that hit me harder than almost any other place I have ever visited.
Summer in Japan brings lively festivals, tempting street stalls, kimono-clad strollers and lights in the trees. It brings fireworks and sparklers, stripey tents and trickles of laughter. It keeps children out late, fishing for plastic toys in puffy round paddling pools, and proudly bouncing home with bags of goldfish in their pudgy little hands.
This sweet little find in Nishijin is not far from my house and serves the best coffee for miles. The characters used in its name ‘Togenkyo’ mean ‘escape from reality’, and the friendly café owner tells me that was essentially what he was trying to do when he set up his café. One wall is stacked floor to ceiling with old LPs, which get cranked out on the crackling record player all day long, and no one is ever in a hurry.
On the second floor of the gorgeous tea house Iyemon Salon on Sanjo Dori, tucked away behind the Sohya Tas kimono fabric products store, is a gallery of kimono design. It is always deserted and you can soak up the intricacies of stunning kimono designs up close. ‘Kimono’ literally means ‘something to wear’ in Japanese, but this style of dress is far from just something to wear – it is a display of tradition, beauty and story.
Beautiful stone shop sign
Just thought I’d share a glimpse of a couple of the lovely shops around here – this handmade wooden stamp shop and gorgeous washi paper shop in the Teramachi arcade have had a few of my Y1000 notes recently…
A few weeks back I shared a peek into my time at Kawashima Textile School. The school was set up by Kawashima, one of the most respected textile companies in Japan. For decades Kawashima has been entrusted with creating some of the country’s most precious fabrics, including the interior of the Emperor’s train carriage. As a student of the school I was lucky to be given a peek behind the doors of the factory, including the secret room where they make drapes for some of country’s most important shrines.
I just had to introduce you to this little gem… Infinity Café is tucked away down a leafy lane off a residential street not too far from Sanjo Market.
Just a few minutes from a very busy road, it is like you step into some kind of bubble as you enter through the wooden sliding doors into what is essentially someone’s house.
You are greeted with a tinkling bell and the nutty aroma of freshly baked bread. This is both a local bakery and a front room café which holds no more than six customers at a time, sat around a low Japanese-style table with a view over the luscious garden. That’s what I call close to my kind of perfect.
I took this picture on a UNICEF field visit to Trinidad & Tobago back in 2008, when we were in the early stages of planning the London 2012 legacy programme. Next to the court a young boy was knelt down sharpening a massive knife.
Today sees the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games in London. This was an important date in my calendar for many years, so it is with mixed emotions that I find myself watching it from a distance on the other side of the world.
The Olympics have been a major feature in my life and a source of many adventures. It is an event like no other – there’s a reason they call it the Greatest Show on Earth.
Brave movie -image via Pixar Wiki
A few days ago, my man and I decided to go to the cinema to watch a lovely new cartoon from Disney Pixar. In Japanese it is called “Merida to osoroshi no mori”. We picked it because we generally love everything Pixar does. We had a couple of spare hours before the film began, so we went to a cafe and ended up having a long and very thought provoking conversation about bravery and courage, topics I have been thinking a lot about lately and which feature heavily in Do What You Love courses.
