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An ode to Japanese resilience, and why you should still visit Hiroshima and Kurashiki

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KURASHIKI (OKAYAMA)/KUMANO (HIROSHIMA) - The first sign that something was amiss during my drive from Kurashiki to Hiroshima came at highway pitstops and in some convenience stores, their shelves stripped entirely of bottled water.
Next was a closed-off portion of the Sanyo Expressway which meant a lengthy detour.
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