“Interestingly, many of the older okonomiyaki restaurants in Hiroshima share the names of their matron founders who, during the war and its aftermath, opened their shops when their husbands went off to – or failed to return from – the war.”

“Walking across Kintaikyo’s rolling, hill-like arches brings with it that uniquely exhilarating feeling of touching history with every footstep.”

“In a flash, the dancing women transform into demons, their hideous faces glowering in the mist above our helpless heroes as the wood flute unleashes a desperate flourish, and the drums and cymbals thrash a wild frenzy.”

“Walking through the workshops surrounding the museum, one can see other craftsmen at work, too — an engraver, a scabbard maker, a sword polisher, and more. Watching them work felt like peering back through the mists of time.”

“In 1965, the first Japanese jeans, produced by Big John in Kojima, hit stores with smashing success. Soon more Japanese jeans makers joined the fray, and the floundering Okayama textile industry emerged from the shallows with fresh wind in its newly loomed, indigo sails.”

“You may be wondering why anyone would go out of their way to make a delicacy engineered to look so underwhelming? The answer, deliciously enough, is rebellion.”