It isn't easy being a rickshaw driver. Can you imagine trying to run a cart all over town with city buses blowing past you? I am amazed by these guys (and gals! Saw a female rickshaw driver just the other day).
Enoden Green
It may not be the flashiest of trains, but the Enoden is still pretty attractive for a large hunk of moving metal.By the by, that's Hisashi in the silver jacket through the middle-right window.
Sunday Morning Surfing
The best Sundays involve nice, gentle waves, and a bit of mist.
Hina Matsuri – What It’s All About
Hina Matsuri (the Doll Festival), AKA Momo-no-Sekku (the Peach Festival), AKA Girls' Day, is the day when Japanese families celebrate their daughters. I wrote about it a bit the other day in the Hina Matsuri Tsurushibina post, and I'll include the text at the bottom, too. These two dolls represent the emperor and empress at … Continue reading Hina Matsuri – What It’s All About
Hina Matsuri Tsurushibina
The Doll Festival (Hina Matsuri/Momo no Sekku/Girls' Day) is just around the corner (well, March 3), and families with daughters—and hotels like Hakone's Kowaki-en—are setting out their decorations. Families with daughters display a special set of dolls to bring happiness and health to their girls. The dolls represent the wedding procession of an emperor and … Continue reading Hina Matsuri Tsurushibina
Wakame Harvesting
This year has been a bad year for wakame. Last year, the harvest was good. It was so good that the beach was strewn with wakame, both farmed and wild. Early mornings would see neighbourhood ojisan and obasan out gathering it in overflowing shopping bags. We had wakame shabu shabu time and again in the … Continue reading Wakame Harvesting
Zuisen-ji Green
One of the things I love best about Japan is its greenery. It may have massive cities and more concrete than you can shake a stick at, but when it's green, it's green--with ferns, bamboo, towering cedars, and soft moss. And you really don't have to go too far off the beaten track to find … Continue reading Zuisen-ji Green
Zuisen-ji Close-up
It's 6am and I'm at Hong Kong International Airport. I cannot for the life of me remember what this is, just that it is from Zuisen-ji. But, I haven't posted for two days, so up it goes. Will try to get details once I'm home.
Drivin’ the Train
We dropped by Goryojinja the other day to get a Fukurokuju stamp for our Shichifukujin (Seven Gods of Luck) stamp collection, and took a minute to enjoy the charm of the Enoden train skirting the shrine grounds.
Daikoku Sama
This happy-looking fella is the god of wealth, farmers, food and good fortune. He can be found at Hasedera, grinning out from the side of the Daikoku-do (Daikoku Hall), where Hasedera's original Daikoku Sama statue is. The past few days, we've been on the Shichifukujin (Seven Gods of Luck) tour of Kamakura, filling up our … Continue reading Daikoku Sama