Another week of Japan in pictures. I take a lot of pictures everyday and many with the iPhone application, Instagram. Here are some images of Japan I captured.
I also wanted to share a little story. Yesterday, while out for a Sunday training run, I passed a young couple riding a bicycle. Shortly after passing them, the young man decided to hop of the bike and chase after me while his girlfriend took over driving. He followed behind me for more than a kilometer before finally stopping. he was by no means dressed for running and I have no idea why he did it. It was pretty weird though. I'm happy something like tat didn't happen at night or I would have had to practice my sprinting skills!
I spent the weekend in northen Hyogo prefecture with my wife. We were all over the place. our main destination was Kinosaki which is an onsen (Japanese hot spring) resort town. it was an amazing place to go. The small town has 7 major onsens and people walk from onsen to onsen normally wearing traditional Japanese yuaktas and gaita (wooden sandals). It was like walking around in a Japanese stereotype. Well, at least the stereotype that many of us foreigners have of Japan.
Check this one out. My wife had never seen this either It's canned whale meat. We saw this in a small mom and pop supermarket in Kinosaki, Japan.
Curried mackrel. Apparetnly my wife saw this on television. It's supposed to be quite good. We bought can of this.
This is a "fugu" or Japanese blowfish. This one, obviously long since passed away is used as a protective symbol. The points on it are supposed to scare away eveil spirits. People in this part of Hyogo Prefecture sometimes hang them in their windows...apparently!
I'm going to post a lot more pictures from Kinosaki within the next few days.
It's been awhile since I've posted. I've recently started a new Japanese language class and have been back to work after the "Kobe Swine Flu Hysteria"!
KOBE INFLUENZA UPDATE: As I mentioned in some previous posts. It was all hype and hysteria. Things are pretty much back to normal and almost no one is wearing masks now. Finished! Hopefully the local businesses will recover quickly. The local economy took quite a hit recently since so many folks in Kobe were hiding under their table,crying with masks on; afraid of a relatively weak form of the flu!
Recently I was on a field trip with my class to the seaside in the small city of Akashi. Akashi is located between Kobe and Himeji and is a quiet little fishing city. We were hanging around the waterfront drawing pictures of the fishing boats.
If you've ever wondered what a Japanese fishing boat looks like, here's your chance! It was cool to see lots of great blue herons strutting about on the bows of the various draggers and long liners. What I found the most interesting (especially since I grew up in a fishing town in Canada) was how remarkably "unseaworthy" these fishing boats looked! Honestly, I don't think I'd be caught dead on any of them going out to sea. They looked as if they were about to sink right there.
Here's a little video I filmed yesterday. just another "odd" thing I noticed while going about my daily business!
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