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白川郷の湯
For a different view of the natural wonders of Shirakawago, you can always explore the natural hot springs. With a nice view over the river (lower right portion of this photo), we were the only ones enjoying this spacious onsen.
Underneath this photo/sign of Mt. Fuji it says, “On a day with good weather, this is what Mt. Fuji looks like.” The reason for such a sign is that 95%+ of the time, you can’t see Mt. Fuji from this location. Mt. Fuji is usually covered in clouds. Even when it isn’t, there is usually enough haze and humidity in the air that you can’t see Mt. Fuji from Kamakura. To improve your odds, arrive at this location just before the sun sets and you may be able to see the haze magically dissipate before your eyes and the sun set majestically behind Mt. Fuji.
Here is an earlier post of mine showing some disappointed females at this same location. That post also includes directions to finding this Mt. Fuji Viewing Platform (富士見台).
My co-star from earlier in the day sauntering through the streets of Nikko Edo Wonderland…
The shop behind her is selling senbei (せんべい).
Since 2006 Japan has been covered in the face of Tommy Lee Jones (AKA 宇宙人ジョーンズ or Alien Jones) selling Boss Coffee.
タベルナ
You know how some things don’t translate? For instance, Gerber (baby food) supposedly means vomiting in French. Or the first time Coca Cola translated its name into Chinese it meant “bite the wax tadpole.” Well, the sign above is one I frequently saw while heading to the Takadanobaba Train Station in Tokyo. It says, “taberuna” which means “Don’t Eat!” in Japanese.
(A verb followed by na in Japanese means “don’t do the verb” in a rather abrupt way of speaking. Taberu means to eat. You wouldn’t want to use this grammar on a guest unless they were about to eat something poisonous.)
I was therefore surprised to discover that this business is none other than a restaurant!
Taverna Italian food restaurant in Takadanobaba
The name comes not from the Japanese of “don’t eat” but from the Italian Taverna which is pronounced as “don’t eat” in Japanese. Too funny and too ironic. Personally, I would have chosen a different name if I was going to open an Italian restaurant in Japan.
We ate there once. It was just OK. I won’t say don’t eat there, because the sign already does.
Queue to see the emperor of Japan
If you are in Tokyo tomorrow (January 2), you can see the emperor. The Imperial Household will make five appearances. Here is the schedule. Expect a ton of people so get there early.
The sign in this photo (from when I went in 2010) says, “please proceed slowly.”