2014 Summer Hawaii Trip Pt 1: Shirokiya and USS Arizona Memorial

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Here's my long awaited pictures from my family visit back to sunny HI~!  I had lots of fun on this trip and re-visited many places.

Pretty red ginger that's forever growing near grandma's apartment.
Bird of Paradise
 Shirokiya is a really popular Japanese store in Ala Moana shopping mall.  It's been there since Ala Moana opened in 1959!

I was surprised at how different Shirokiya was when I visited with grams and my auntie.  It's been maybe 5-8 years since I've been there.  

It seems like they have less stuff like books and magazines and opted for having lots of food and beauty items instead.
All the food is on the upper level.  It's set up quite similarly to Japan with various cubic-like spaces for each seller resulting in a sort of food maze.

 You'll find bento's galore up here.
  Lower level.  They set up a pretty seating area.  Downstairs you'll find a couple of bakeries and other various items like plants, omiyage, electronics, beauty items, etc.  Not much selection for the books and magazines though..

 Nice view of some fancy apartment buildings outside.

Dad and I went to the Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor.  I thought it would be good to pay respects.  It's been a while since I've been there.  Last time I went was on a school trip in elementary or middle school.  It didn't seem like much changed.

Lots of these myna birds all over the place.  They can be noisy. D:
People board this ferry at scheduled times to see the Arizona Memorial after watching a theatrical video about the events of Pearl Harbor.

The entire memorial is white in color, including the interior.
 You can see the top of the ship.  There's still oil leaking out of it.
While I was reading the wall of names, I noticed how none of the names were of Asian men.  Well, maybe there might have been one or two but overall, they were all white men.  I learned that it was uncommon for people of various ethnicity's to be enlisted in the military at the time; only later would other ethnicity's enlist.

Lots of neat stuff to look at.... like this bomb.
Periscope
 Man powered 'suicide' torpedo that Japanese soldiers would pilot.  
 Me being a doofus.  I'm too short for this thing.. lmao
$3 hot dogs but they really hit the spot on this hot day. ^^

We had a good time.  I'm glad I visited even though it was slightly brief.  It's always a good thing to remember and reflect on history so that we can learn from it and become more civilized.


Comments

Lov.e Chloe said…
Wow! Hawaii looks great! Always wanted to go to Hawaii!!
August 26, 2014 at 4:19 AM
Joshua Hideki said…
Thanks for your comment on my blog! Looks like you've had a wonderful time here ! Those flowers are lovely, and pearl harbour looks beautiful. I love those battleships! :)

www.ColorfulExistence.com
August 29, 2014 at 8:17 AM
lovepirate said…
Super nice photos of your trip! ^w^ ♥ I enjoyed reading it.
August 31, 2014 at 12:26 PM
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