birds, dragons - same, same

seen at Futara in Utsunomiya

somewhere in downtown Utsunomiya

something from my archives

seen in Moka:

Sorry about the lack of new posts

and comments from me.

We've moved and because we live in the sticks, it will take up to 2 weeks to get us connected to the internet. There's a McDonald's nearby with a wireless access, and I will do my best to throw something on the blog every now and then. But until about November 4th, it will be rather irregular.

Take care guys!

See you all very soon!

Girls, be ambitious?

Getting ready to ride down the archery track?

Yabusame right in the city center

at the Futara shrine:

This poor horse has that

desperate "get me outta here" look in his eyes (well, at least in one of them).

seen at the Kikusui fest ( 菊水祭 ) in Utsunomiya today.
There will be more photos tomorrow, OK?

Just a random kid with a dragon

who was bored out of his mind (the kid, not the dragon):

while walking home for lunch

I saw this lady:

this was right before she stepped in some doggie poo. And to find and step in a doggie poo on this sidewalk, you have to be true a genius.

and speaking of city logos

Why Kanuma chose this as its city symbol, I have no clue:



and here's another Kanuma manhole cover with its starry symbol:

cemetery bucket

with the Utsunomiya city logo:

sorry this is a backdated post

but I'm down with bronchitis, and hence have no energy to post new stuff right now.

So here's one from our archives:

and this little froggie went to Mashiko...

Everything on this street leans

one way or the other, including that utility pole.

and the street itself can't decide whether it's going downhill or up.

Cool

oh really?

separated at birth

don't know if it's just me, but these two look like long-lost brothers.

Kanuma doggies

Seen during the autumn festival in Kanuma:

small goggies....

big goggies...

festive goggies...

Autumn festival in Kanuma - kids version

our grandfather is da bomb!

yo! foreigner! take more pictures of us!

masked mystery maidens

going, going.... gone... zzzzzz.......

Seen in Kanuma

during the Autumn festival:

kanuma autumn fest at night

鹿沼ぶっつけ秋祭り。夜景編。

fireworks

and buttsuke at night

and going to warp 5. make it so!

To read about the festival visit here.

Kanuma Buttsuke Autumn Festival - the hairstyle version

Back by popular demand - the hair. This time in Kanuma during the annual fall festival (鹿沼ぶっつけ秋祭り).

Is this the Japanese version of the Utah hair syndrome - the bigger the hair the closer to god(s)?

we "heart" hair spray:

and even more hair spray:

yeah, gotta love them Japanese festival hair styles

and those young ones still have a lot to learn:

If you want to read about the festival, go here. No worries, it's in English. :)

Omiya ramen shop - 近江屋ラーメン屋さん

Because what's a mom-and-pop ramen joint without its very own cujo:



The shop is very cozy:

Still before lunch, so it's nice and quiet.

The ramen is good. No, scratch that, it's very good. Full of home-made, hand-made goodness:



And that dog was actually very sweet and friendly:



I know I'll be back. For directions call: 028-634-9356, Japanese only.

isuzu vehiCROSS

Some morons at some car mag in the US listed VehiCROSS as one of the worst car designs of the 2000s (at number 8). Obviously those morons had never had a V-CROSS. And from the totally ludicrous description of the interior and handling of the car, I can tell they'd never test driven one either.

no, this is not our V-CROSS, but we used to have one just like it, except with the steering wheel on the other side (for the US market). And I loved that car, truly loved it. With all my heart. The best car we've ever had.

This one is normally parked by the train station nearby our home.

Stream in Nikko

taken with a ridiculously slow shutter speed.

Apartment hunting

but sadly, there was nothing available in this awesome colored building.

cat studio

FYI, it's a hair salon. For humans.

Ever-present power lines

Mizuhanomenokami

Takio jinja

Akamon at Jikoji - 慈光寺の赤門

No town is complete without its very own...

Wonder GOO!

Contrast

taken while driving to work on route 4.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants