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Takeda Shingen Statue (武田信玄之像)
Kofu, Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan
I went past this statue multiple times a day for the first seven months I lived in Japan in the 1980s. I have changed much since then, but it hasn’t changed a bit.
Shofukuji (Hakata, Fukuoka, Japan)
Big or small, famous or not, I love visiting temples in Japan with no crowds. (Crowds can be fun too when there is a matsuri, bon odori, or something going on.) There were no other people at Shofukuji (聖福寺) on this weekday in June with rain threatening. However, I was not alone. The Japanese black crows made their presence very known to me. They made a few dives in my neighborhood as I was taking this photo and were squawking so loudly you would have thought I was standing on their nest. (I assure you I was not.)
In any event, I had to take this quick picture before splitting as I didn’t want another bloody gash in my head (which is what happened the last time a Japanese black crow didn’t like me).
View from Iwaso (岩惣)
Sorry for all of the rainy Japan pics. Rain fell nearly every day I was in Japan this past June and August. When I looked out the window of my room at Iwaso I saw this. If I walked down the hall and looked out the windows on the other side I saw the scene presented in today’s photo.
KIA K3 Home Run Zone (Gwangju, ROK)
I’m not sure if they will continue this tradition in the new Gwangju baseball stadium, but in the old stadium if a player hit a home run in which the ball hit the car beyond the stands in left field the player was awarded the car after the game. I was at one such game when Na Ji-Wan (나지완) hit the car. I asked the guy next to me if the car given to the player came with or without the dent, and he laughed.
BAR MiDiAN (Heavy Metal Bar in Osaka, Japan)
I have been to a grand total of zero Heavy Metal bars in the USA. I have heard of a grand total of zero Heavy Metal bars in the USA. I have been to six Heavy Metal bars in Japan. I have heard of even more. These are wonderful little places, carefully decorated by their owners. They are usually hard to find so be sure to bring good directions should you ever want to try one of these hangouts.
Bar Midian is located near the Osaka and Umeda Stations. The entire neighborhood is a trip at night. If heavy metal isn’t your thing, you can probably find some crazy place catering to your thing in this neck of the woods. If you aren’t into metal, but still like rock and roll, the owner is very accommodating. Like every music bar I’ve been to in Japan, the patrons can choose the music from the owner’s extensive collection.
Here is the address:
大阪市北区堂山町10ー16ー2F
And here is a map:
View Larger Map
When in Hiroshima, don’t miss Koba.
Shop with stuff for kids in Tokyo in the 1970s (from the Sadaharu Oh Museum in Fukuoka, Japan)
The Tokyo Giants are poised to win another Japan Series in 2013. Yawn. (OK, so the series is tied at 1-1. If Masahiro Tanaka (24-0 in regular season, 2-0 in the postseason, and 1-0 in the Japan Series) could pitch every day then the Golden Eagles could win, but he can’t so…)
Today’s photo is from my visit to the Oh Sadaharu Baseball Museum (王貞治ベースボールミュージアム) inside the Fukuoka Dome this past summer. This exhibit may have been my favorite part of the museum as it reminded me of some of the similar stands I frequented in the 1980s when I first lived in Japan. These kinds of shops haven’t completely disappeared, even in 21st Century Japan, but they are harder to find. They have everything a kid could possibly want to spend their limited funds on–baseball caps, candy, comics, baseball cards, action figures, etc. I spent the vast majority of my early childhood funds on baseball cards at somewhat similar, American versions of the same.