|
The above will search Traveljapanblog.com. Concerts - Landscapes - Sports |
夫婦恵比須
Even though this ema says it is from the Meotoebisu Jinja (夫婦恵比須神社), I’m pretty sure it was hanging at Kushida Jinja. Maybe the one is a sub-shrine of the other? This ema is sure to provide the wisher with some big fish satisfaction in their business (or at least that’s the literal meaning of some of what is written thereon).
2013 Christmas tree
Most years, and this goes all the way back to when I was a kid, finding the “perfect” tree has not been easy. Frequently it involved stops at multiple lots selling trees. Some years it involved long walks through the forest or Christmas tree farms in which every tree was examined from multiple angles, multiple times. (Wait, haven’t we looked at this tree before?)
I’m guessing the average time it took to pick a tree over the years comes to about 2 hours. Even with all of the scrutiny, you get the tree home and find out it has some bad spots or won’t stand straight.
Not this year. We aren’t in Ashland for Christmas to enjoy this tree so we grabbed the first tree we saw in the Shop N Kart parking lot. The tree was all wrapped up so we didn’t even know what it would look like. We brought it home, untied it, and wah-lah, it is the most symmetrical and perfect tree we have ever had.
KIA Tigers Korean cheerleaders
I previously posted the head, male cheerleader for the KIA Tigers. Today I bring you the four female cheerleaders. This seems to be the standard for all of the pro baseball teams in Korea–1 male who does the talking and 4 females who do the dancing.
“Mega Egg” passing the Koamicho Bus Stop
Hiroshima, Japan
Today’s photo was taken while I was waiting for the “bus” near the place where I stayed in Hiroshima. By the way, if you want a friendly host, inexpensive rate, and great WiFi access while in Hiroshima, stay at Sansui Ryokan (山水旅館). Pretty much everyone who stays here is a foreigner so if you don’t want that scene pick somewhere else. However, when I stayed here (during rainy season) there were no other guests. The bike rental was an attraction for me, and I rode the bike all over Hiroshima.
The place isn’t really a ryokan; it’s more of a minshuku. And the bus stop isn’t really for buses; it’s for the Hiroshima Electric Railway (Hiroden Streetcar) as you can see. The owner of Sansui is super nice and helpful. She was excited to have someone she could speak with in Japanese. I helped her translate some of her messages into English so that they made sense, and she was very grateful as I was to her for her hospitality.
paper chain made out of hand-made Japanese paper
purchased at the Isetatsu store in the Yanaka / Sendagi area of Tokyo
While in Tokyo this past summer I asked my wife if she wanted me to bring anything home. She wanted some of the unique paper that can only be found at a little shop near where I was staying in Yanaka. I didn’t know which styles she would want so I started taking photos to send to her. The shop owner came flying out of the back and was quite angry that a photo had been taken. I tried to explain, but she didn’t care if my photos were going to help her sell more paper. I probably should have just left. Instead I bought some of the paper and brought it home. Last week my wife turned the paper into one of the world’s most expensive paper chains to decorate our house for the holidays.
