Growing strong

At Minagarten, a community-focused development at the heart of the Minaga neighbourhood in Hiroshima, the morning unfolds slowly. There’s a gentle breeze wafting down the Yawata River as children wander off to school on paths cut amid the glossy plant life shimmering in the pale morning sun.

Bakers are preparing pastries and loaves of shokupan (Japanese milk bread) as a visiting barista lugs bags of coffee beans and staff begin to set tables for the first customers. Under the sprawling Japanese maple, volunteer Lan Haguma, who fell in love with the…