In this podcast episode, the focus is on the lesser-known experiences of Japanese Americans who were stranded in Japan during World War II. The protagonist, Corey Suzuki, discovers that his grandmother, Obachama, was actually born in California and not in Japan. Obachama and her parents left the US to return to Japan in the late 1930s due to anti-Japanese discrimination and economic opportunities in Japan. However, they were caught in Japan when the US entered the war, and they experienced the hardships of war, including bombings and food shortages. The story highlights the experiences of tens of thousands of Japanese Americans who were stranded in Japan during the war and their journey back to the US after the war ended. The term "Kibei Nisei" is used to describe these Japanese Americans who left and returned to America. The episode reflects on the complexities of Japanese American identity and the need to explore lesser-known stories in Japanese American history. The episode ends with Corey Suzuki and his sister walking across the Golden Gate Bridge, reflecting on their grandmother's experiences.

One of the most pivotal moments in Japanese American history was when the U.S. government uprooted more than 100,000 people of Japanese ancestry and forced them into incarceration camps. But there is another, less-known story about the tens of thousands of Japanese Americans who were living in Japan during World War II — and whose lives uprooted in a very different way.