Today marks 65 years since the atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. The aftermath of the nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were horrific, and the lives lost can only be estimated but it numbers in the hundred thousands. The attacks over sixty years were the first and only instances thusfar in which nuclear weapons have been used offensively in warfare.
As the granddaughter of a Hiroshima survivor (hibakusha), I’ve heard firsthand stories from my grandmother about the atrocity that befell the city that day. Her father was killed, along with many of her family members and friends. The atomic bomb not only took away countless lives, but it continues to have long-lasting effects… some genetic, that are passed on through the generations. Even I myself am not completely free from risk of unforeseen radiation effects, as the blood of a survivor runs through my veins.
Still, the constant message that is central at the Hiroshima Peace Park and at its yearly memorial services on August 6 is not that of bitterness, but of the city’s unending hope for world peace. Hiroshima is an important reminder that the world should never have to experience such a nuclear nightmare ever again.
As we mentioned earlier, we had the opportunity to take some Japanese-style wedding portraits in kimono while we were in Honolulu. I’d grown up seeing various cousins’ wedding photos from Japan, and my relatives always urged us to take some, but we never had the opportunity until this summer. Masako Formals in Honolulu is a bridal boutique that specializes in wedding dresses, tuxedos, and other formalwear, but they also offer photography packages in which you can take portraits in traditional Japanese wedding kimonos. It includes the kimono rental (in my case both shiromuku and iro-uchikake), makeup and hair for the bride, and dressing assistance. They did a wonderful job, and both Dan and I were very impressed! Here are some of the photos!
The female staff were especially taken with Dan during the photoshoot, squealing that he looked like Tom Cruise (I perosnally don’t see it!), and were snapping a bunch of personal photos on their cell phones… lol. You can see us featured on their blog as well. A huge thanks to our friend Yumi who referred us to Masako Formals! ã¨ã£ã¦ã‚‚ã„ã„記念ã«ãªã‚Šã¾ã—ãŸâ™ª ã‚ã‚ŠãŒã¨ã†ï¼:D
This past weekend, I flew down to Los Angeles to spend the weekend with a couple of my close college friends! Ryosuke had been in SoCal for a week for a business trip, and Mariko was very gracious to host us again and drive us around everywhere. We had a memorable, fun-filled weekend together!
I flew down to LAX on Friday morning, and after Mari picked me up at the airport, we went to Il Chianti, an Italian restaurant in Lomita. But this is not just any Italian food — it’s Italian food that is tailored to Japanese tastes, so it was very light yet flavorful, and it doesn’t leave you with the heavy feeling that a lot of other traditional Italian restaurants leave you with.
Il Chianti in Lomita
We got to the restaurant a little early, so we caught up on a bench outside while we waited for it to open.
Manila clam pasta with herbs
Afterwards, we went shopping to get a joint birthday present for Ryosuke, and waited for him to get out of work….
Boba Loca
Mari and I shared a watermelon slushy.
Cute Mari with our boba.
We took a walk around Charles H. Wilson Park in Torrance.
Ryosuke finally got off of work, so we picked him up at his hotel in Hawthorne and after wandering around Book Off and Marukai in Gardena, we headed over to dinner in Koreatown, at Honey Pig. My coworker Estella repeatedly recommended it, saying it was some of the best Korean BBQ in LA, so I’d been really wanting to try it!
Me at Honey Pig in Koreatown!
Mari and Richard at dinner
Doesn't it look delicious? It was a little different from the typical Korean BBQ I was used to from Annandale Koreatown.
Mari and I are ready to eat!
The service was great, and our waitress was very friendly and knew some Japanese. She showed us how to eat everything since it was our first time at Honey Pig. They even gave us some complimentary octopus to grill along with the amazing galbi and samgyeopsal that we’d ordered.
At the end, they added rice and lettuce to the leftover meat to make "bibimbap."
After stuffing ourselves to satisfaction at Honey Pig, we drove to Max Karaoke to spend a couple hours singing our hearts out! When the three of us would hang out back in Northern Virginia, we always went karaoke, so we decided to stay true to tradition! 🙂
Mariko and I at karaoke
They had a book of Glee songs!
We tried to get a photo of the three of us together with a timer, but it didn't work as well as we'd hoped... the base ended up being too reflective.
Ryosuke sang an impressive rendition of Jason DeRulo’s “Whatcha Say” at my request. (I have been loving all the covers of that song on YouTube — they’re even better than the original!) He should be one of those YouTube celebrities that do cover songs! 😛
The next day, we headed over to Orange County and stopped at Mitsuwa’s food court for lunch.
Mitsuwa Marketplace in Costa Mesa.
Santouka Ramen -- it was very popular, and the line was pretty long!
Everything looks so good!
My shoyu ramen from Santouka.
Mari enjoying her ramen!
The ramen was well worth the wait! Sooooo good!
After finishing our lunch and hanging around Mitsuwa for a while, we drove to the OC Fair in Orange County!
Walking from the car to the OC Fair.
Mari and I at the OC Fair, having some shaved ice.
Shaved ice... very sweet! Unfortunately not as good as Hawaii's.
These turkey legs reminded us of our football games from back at school! We were too full to get any though...
Mari with the pugs!
Ryosuke and Mari waiting for the ferris wheel ride.
Ryosuke and I patiently waiting...
Mari and I, finally on the ferris wheel!
We were a little alarmed by how shaky the ride was.
Our view overlooking the OC Fair from the ferris wheel.
The three of us on the ferris wheel!
The Ice Museum at the OC Fair - some very detailed ice sculptures!
I think it was a Chinese lion...?
Angel carved out of ice.
Mari and I by the ice dragon, in the blankets they provided us.
An ice version of Rodin's "The Thinker"
At the photography exhibition at the OC Fair. We played around with the color isolation (color accent?) settings on my camera.
Mari at the photo exhibit.
highlighted oranges
The green stripes in Richard's shirt didn't really show up, but the green in the background did!
A stylish Mari among the photographs
Lots of orange showing up!
Peeking out from behind the walls.
Mari and I with the giant camera at the exhibit.
Ryosuke and I at the exhibit
We spotted these performers on stilts. Amazing how they can walk so well in them!
Taking a break to enjoy some Dippin' Dots.
Rainbow Ice Dippin' Dots!
Mari and Ryo went on the rollercoaster, but I decided to sit it out...
Ryosuke at the end of the ride.
I played a game to use up my tickets, and ended up winning this ugly little bear doll. The pattern makes it look diseased... gross! haha*
We left the fair in the late afternoon to catch a showing of Inception. It was my second time seeing it, but it was still really enjoyable to watch and I was able to pick up on more of the details of the film. Definitely got me thinking all over again. What a great movie! I don’t think I will ever get sick of it! We enjoyed a late Japanese dinner at Sanuki no Sato back in Gardena. They are known for their udon and soba noodles, as well as their great izakaya food.
buta no kakuni
I ordered tempura with zaru-soba!
Ryosuke's sanshoku wariko soba.
A delicious dinner to end an eventful day!
The next day, after we dropped Ryosuke off at LAX for him to catch his morning flight back to Tennessee, I went to church with Mariko. Her father is a pastor and gave a very intriguing and inspiring message. 🙂 It’s interesting to attend a service in Japanese, because it’s so foreign to me since I never had the experience growing up — any and all services I’ve gone to were always in English. Afterwards, we had some delicious cake at Patisserie Chantilly before heading over to the airport for me to catch my flight.
Patisserie Chantilly in Lomita
I had the Chantilly Fromage, their signature cheesecake with a creamy cheese filling, baked on a buttery honey graham cracker crust
It was really nice to kick back and relax with old college friends again, since the opportunity is so rare these days, living all the way on the other side of the country from most of them. A huge thanks to Mariko for being such a gracious hostess as usual, driving us all over the megalopolis that is LA… and to Ryosuke for extending his stay in California so we could all hang out for a couple days! 😀 Looking forward to another reunion, hopefully in the near future!
On Monday, Dan and I celebrated our two year wedding anniversary! We of course both had to work since it was a Monday, but we went to dinner at the world renowned Chez Panisse. Located in the “Gourmet Ghetto” of Berkeley and founded by the famous Alice Waters, it is credited as the birthplace of California cuisine. It frequently makes it into the ranks of the top 50 restaurants in the world, and reservations fill up very quickly. Dan and I were lucky to get a reservation in 8:45… pretty late for dinner, but Chez Panisse was well worth the wait!
Dan surprised me with flowers before dinner!
Pretty anniversary flowers.
Chez Panisse! The mecca for foodies in the Bay Area.
The dinner course for the evening.
Olive tapenade before the dinner.
Candlelight dinner. Note the pretty etching on the glass!
The first course.
Taku river sockeye salmon carpaccio with cucumber and anise hyssop
The carpaccio transported me to heaven.
The hubby loved the carpaccio, too! Patiently waiting for the main course...
Wolfe Ranch quail grilled over fig branches with sweet corn pudding and pepperonata
Chez Panisse's dessert drink menu... everything sounds so good!
Pêche Melba: Peaches in raspberry sauce with vanilla ice cream.
A delicious dessert to end an unforgettable dinner!
They gave us cocoa-covered toasted almonds with candied blood orange peel to munch on before we left. These were really good too! (I only remembered to take the photo when we were almost done with it... oops!)
Happy 2 Years hubby! ♥
It’s been an amazing two years, and although this puts a cap on our status as “newlyweds,” we’re very excited for the many more years to come and all the anniversaries that we’ll get to celebrate with each passing year. We are constantly reminded that it is thanks to our family and friends and all their love and support that we are who we are today, and we feel humbled and so grateful for having all of you as such an important, ever-present, and precious presence in our lives. We can’t wait to build more amazing memories together with each other, as well as with you!
A couple of weekends ago, my friend Sue from college was in San Francisco for some interviews. I spent a Saturday with her and her friend Matt wandering around the city. Here are some pictures from our adventures in San Francisco….
Starting the day off with Roli Roti brunch at the Ferry Building!
The Roli Roti Plate. Best rotisserie chicken ever! The potatoes are also delicious.
After cleaning off our plates, we went inside the lovely Ferry Building.
We decided to try some of the oysters, since they were only $1.50 each!
Oyster Shots!
Sue with her oyster.
The oysters were great! Will definitely have to go get some more there again.
The three of us outside the Ferry Building.
Sue jumping for joy in front of the Bay Bridge.
I jump!
Matt jumps!
Sue jumping again. This would become a common occurence/theme for the rest of the day.
Finding our way around Telgraph Hill.
Matt jumps at the intersection.
Climbing the Filbert Steps... that's right, all 103 of them!
Looking down at the steps... this was still less than a tenth of it. Still a long way to go!
Halfway up, we stopped to smell the flowers.
Almost there! The Coit Tower is just ahead.
The Coit Tower! We made it!!!
Sue jumping at the Coit Tower.
Exhausted from the climb. Excuse my unattractiveness... but I nearly died climbing those million steps.
The view of the bay from the Coit Tower.
Us outside the Coit Tower, after regaining our composure.
Sue jumping on the streets of San Francisco.
My failed attempt at flying.
Matt got a lot of air!
Sue trying to figure out where Liguria Bakery is... when we were right in front of it. lol.
After grabbing some focaccia, we took a break in Washington Park to sit and enjoy the beautiful day.
The pizza focaccia from Liguria Bakery was so good! They gave us so much too; we couldn't finish it.
Walking through Fisherman's Grotto. There were so many people!
We walked past Hyde Street Pier, towards the Aquatic Park...
Finally here! Sue taking photos from the Aquatic Park.
View of San Francisco from the Aquatic Park. We walked all the way from the Coit Tower (the little tower to the left in the distance) to here! It was quite a lot of walking...
Ghirardelli Square and the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park.
Sue and I with San Francisco behind us, before leaving to go to dinner.
It was so good seeing Sue again, since I hadn’t seen her in over three years, since I graduated from Tech. I wish her all the best and I know she’s going to be one of the best architects the world has ever seen, wherever she goes. San Francisco would be lucky to have her! 🙂
...and I'll end this one last signature jump from Sue!
