The Wonders of Japanese Packaging

Wrapping from souvenir cinnamon biscuits from Kyoto; ginger tea from the local supermarket; chocolate that will make you appear crazy...

One day in the subway...

We were travelling on the Midosuji line and as we got off at Namba, a lady lost her shoe between the train and the platform...

As quick as a flash the station attendant got his hooked stick and rescued it in a blur before the next train arrived

The owner was very happy to be reunited with her shoe...

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.