Japan - Part Three

Kyoto offers a glimpse into what I imagine all of Japan once looked like -- ancient streets, timber-framed buildings with sloping roofs, and beautiful Geisha dressed in vibrant silk kimonos. It's all that, but it does have its whimsical side as well. On my first visit, four years ago, I took this photo of three cats peeking into a store window (click on photos to enlarge):



This summer, I spotted them again. Looks like one of the cats has been adopted:




The food in Japan is always exquisitely presented -- almost too beautiful to eat:





In addition to traditional menus, most restaurants offer a visual array of plastic food samples to make choosing one's meal far easier:




And then there are the crepes which are stacked full of ... well, everything you can imagine:



We all passed on the hotdog crepe, but my daughter and husband loved the strawberry-banana, while I opted for the vanilla and green tea ice cream cone.

Over 127,000,000 million people live in Japan, but there is never any jostling in line, and the citizens are always polite and friendly (they even have Canadians beat in that regard!). And despite the differences in food, language, and customs, I never once felt homesick. Had it not been for the fact that I missed my cat, Meeko, I might have stayed and discovered all the many more wonderful things Japan has to offer.

Japan - Part Two

As I said in my earlier post, I only visited cities while vacationing in Japan, and didn't see many animals. Then, one morning outside of my hotel, I spotted a green snake! Normally, I would have been hesitant to stick around, but I was so happy to finally have a chance at snapping a photo of some wildlife, I couldn't get my camera out fast enough. This Japanese Rat Snake was almost gone by the time I did. You'll have to click on the photo to enlarge because the snake was, sadly, pretty small. He's in the centre of the picture:




Inside our hotel, there was a large stand for people to store their umbrellas for the day. Yes, they're just umbrellas, but don't they look like snakes in a crowded subway car?




Of course, there's lots of Koi. I took this photo at Kiyomizu-Dera, a Buddhist temple in Kyoto. And look! There's a turtle on the rock. Two for the price of one -- it was a good day.

Japan - Part One

I've just returned from vacationing in Japan. Although only visiting three cities (Tokyo, Kyoto and Hiroshima), I'd hoped to catch a glimpse of some interesting animals to bring back and share with you. Not an easy task. In Tokyo, we stayed across from Ebisu Garden Place, a massive office, retail and restaurant complex. As you can see from the top photo, taken from our hotel room, there's not much green space, yet it was a popular spot for dog-walking. Click on photos to enlarge.



There wasn't a speck of poop anywhere. This could have been because every inch of the public space was scrubbed each morning. Or maybe their dogs just don't poop. I'm not even sure the pigeons poop. I swear that Japan has the cleanest and most considerate animals around. And some of the cutest. Check out this little guy I spotted in Yoyogi Park in Harajuku:



The dog was cute but terribly overdressed -- it was 35 degrees Celsius (95 fahrenheit)! Why do people do that to their pets?


And since we were in Harajuku, I had to snap a few pictures of some of the more interesting Sunday visitors:







Go here to read more about Harajuku's teenagers.