There's Nothing Yukky about Sukiyaki

At a local sukiyaki restaurant, the waitress showed us how it is done.

Copper Cow

We went to Tenri in Nara prefecture and found a temple with this cute copper cow statue. A lot of people had stroked its nose, it seemed.

Gullible's Travels

One weekend we travelled up to a place called Omitakashima to do some hiking. Outside the railway station was this tribute to Gulliver as in "Gulliver's Travels" the real title of which is "Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World, in Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships." We never did figure out the link between Omitakasima and Gulliver, but it was a really nice feature in an otherwise rather drab area.

Below are the Lilliputians hanging out in their castle.

Scoop!

We went down to Miyajima and found the world's largest rice scoop. Now I want to see the rice cooker that it came with.

We stayed in a hostel at Miyajimaguchi. It was only 2700 yen per night. You can see why...

Funky Figures

We went hiking in Tenri-shi in Nara-ken, and found these funky figures featured in a little udon place along the trail.

Design Delights

Some cute salt and pepper shakers from the 100 Yen store

Yakiniku

A new yakiniku restaurant has opened down on the main road. Yakiniku is where you get a bunch of different cuts of meat and vegetables to grill on a burner at your table. The restaurant is called Ten-Mei, and the kanji mean 'sky' and 'life'. It was quite stylish, and above are the business card, embossed chopsticks wrapper and matchbox we souvenired. 

Olive Mania

We visited Shodoshima, an island in the Seto Inland Sea, southwest of Himeji. The island is supposedly famous for its olives. A few small olive groves are dotted around the coast. Most of the olives are found in the souvenir stores. We found all of those shown below (the last one is olive jelly), along with olive chocolate and olive candy.

Living Things

Everything comes to life in Japan. Soap holders become frogs and seals, pieces of wood become temple icons (in this case, darumas), and even drops of water come to life to tell us about who to call if there is a blockage or a leak. The daruma doll represents the founder of Zen Buddhism who according to legend meditated for so long that his arms and legs fell off, which makes it even harder to hear the sound of one hand clapping. When knocked over the dolls return to the standing position. 

Local Entertainment

Sign outside a pub (pab) in the ski resort town of Hakuba

Be Careful of Falling Rocks

Just in case you wondered where those annoying falling rocks came from... 

Root Beer on Tap

There are a lot of things that could be said about this establishment near the Wajima port area on the north side of Noto Peninsula. The most respectable could be that if your love life has become a bit "routine", then you should check in here. The katakana in the second photo indicates that the Australian rather than American pronunciation is required (rhymes with toot, not flout).

Signs and Wonders

We were driving down from Lake Aoki towards Hakuba in the Japanese Alps when we spotted this piece of international signage magic. We weren't sure whether the promoted facilities catered for other styles/techniques, or whether standing was compulsory.

The Big Pig

Driving up towards the Noto Peninsula from Kanazawa, we spotted this porker promoting a local restaurant named Noto Road, and featuring suteki (steak), tonkatsu (crumbed, deep fried pork cutlet),and  ebi furai (fried prawns), at least. 

Kanazawa Cafe Keeper

We had coffee in a little place near the Kanazawa railway station. This funky dude kept an eye on one corner.

Mascot Madness

I simply cannot imagine that a site as important as Asuka Historical National Government Park would NOT have a pair of floral mascots. After a spring time growth spurt that any adolsecent would be proud of, Taishi-kun (top) and Asuka-hime (middle) needed a good pruning.

Big Bufo

Up in Yoshino-yama in Nara prefecture, you can buy anything your heart desires in the souvenir stalls, including this big fella.

Puff the Magic and Somewhat Decrepit Dragon

Out in Takamatsu-zuka Park in Nara Prefecture we stumbled across some topiaried mythical animals, all of whom needed a bit of TLC. Rather than real topiaries, they were actually wire mesh on which vines had been grown. 

Shoe Shenanigans Part 2

I needed a brown pair, too. These Hi Quality Casual Shoes (for 2990 Yen? I doubt it) size 25.0 looked like just the thing for doing La Strut, or getting stuck in the Last Rut, or something...

Crazy about Shoes

I bought a pair of shoes down at the shoe store on 171. They were comfortable and a good fit. I didn't take much notice of the brand until I got them home.

Baseball Japanese Style

One of the two Hanshin Tigers baseball team's mascots doing her thing prior to the game vs Softbank Hawks.

The beer sellers had a tank of beer on their back, and were visible from the space shuttle in their bright orange and yellow outfits with non-matching red sox. The piercing cries of "Biru ga ikaga desu ka" (Would you like a beer?) could be heard in the next prefecture.

During the top of the seventh innings, the fans inflated party balloons. In the break between innings, on the count of three, they were all released. The kiddies loved it.

The Culture Convenience Club

The euphemistic Tsutaya Culture Convenience Club, aka book, video and DVD store. This branch is under the railway line at Moriguchi city. 

Anyone for Pool?

Need your swimming pool cleaned? Don't leave it up to pot luck. The students from Mino Higashi High School know how to take their cue, so give them a call. 

From the Never in Japan File

For the first time ever in Japan, we were on a train carriage all by ourselves. The following two carriages were also empty. The carriage ahead of us had 4 or 5 people in it, and the driver. On the last leg to Kisaichi station, Osaka prefecture. 

Stand and Deliver

This public toilet at Tsu beach is in the shape of a ship. See the smokestack on the top? The men's is on the right hand side. The gents can look out the port hole while doing their stand up routine. They can smile at the passers by, who in turn can wonder why they are smiling...

Worship those Frogs

The Okitama shrine has a bit of a frog theme. Maybe it's to improve the sales of frog statues in the regulation shrine souvenir stall.

Wedded Rocks

We went down to Ise-shima. On the coast at a place called Futami there is a shrine called Okitama-jinja. Just off the coast are two rocks, joined by sacred ropes (shimenawa). The rope ties the male and female rocks together, and is renewed every January 5 in a big festival.