my suitcase heart

Shot with Canon EOS 3 and Kodak Portra film

I didn't mean to take so long with finishing up the Japan photos. I really wish I had actually been a bit more prompt because as I was focusing on school stuff, our hard drive died  and we lost the rest of our Japan photos. Mike had tried to back them up as the hard drive was failing but they didn't transfer over properly. Huge bummer. Mike is usually quite fastidious with backing up files but it just slipped through the cracks this time. In any case, Mike had shot a bunch of film during the trip, so we at least have those of Tokyo and Hiroshima.

It rained a lot when we were in Tokyo. It was hard to maintain an upbeat attitude during the torrential downpours so it doesn't really stand out as a favourite travel destination. We are actually planning on going back for a little bit in the fall so hopefully we luck out with some better weather.

Hiroshima was extremely moving. I knew it was likely going to be really depressing (and it was) but the museum and the city of Hiroshima also push a huge message of peace. The mayor of Hiroshima writes each world leader every single time they do a  nuclear test. Hundreds of letters are posted in the museum, including many to George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

In grade four, I learned about Japan and Sadako and became a bit obsessed. Little bits of what I had learned kept coming back to me throughout our time in Japan. It was really touching to see these tiny little paper cranes that had actually been folded by Sadako herself. Thousands of paper cranes are now sent to Hiroshima and are displayed throughout the memorial grounds.

We also made a day trip to Itsukushima Shrine. It was again a bit drizzly and we ended up having a really silly fight while we were there. It was the first thing Mike and I thought of when going through these film photos. It was still a neat thing to see even if I wasn't in the best of spirits!

That's it for Japan! Our summer adventures begin this weekend! Looking forward to coming back here with Mike's photos from Israel and our collective photos from Turkey and Morocco. See you in September. xx