Posts from — February 2003
Takaragaike lake
(clicky-go-biggy)This large park is on the other side of Shirakawa street from our house. The International Conference center at left
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is where the Kyoto Protocol was debated, and the mountain is Hiei-zan. Our neighborhood is between Hiei-zan and the hill at right. There is an equestrian center in the park. This new digital camera takes much better pictures than our old one (see photo below this one).
February 28, 2003 3 Comments
Tooroo part II
The biggest collection of free tooroo images on the Internet!

February 28, 2003 1 Comment
Astute political commentary
I look forward to hearing say one thing:
“How’s the food in here, Slobo?”
February 28, 2003 No Comments
Ocha-ya
No riff-raff allowed. That means you.

February 27, 2003 No Comments
Yee-haw, it’s yama-imo night!

February 27, 2003 2 Comments
Knott’s Berry clothing store
The Japanese word for lawyer is “bengoshi.”

February 27, 2003 No Comments
Kyoto barbershop webcam
You know how the first time you hook up a webcam, it seems like a cool idea, but then you think, “Why would anyone want to watch my life in realtime?”
I first saw this Kyoto barbershop webcam more than a year ago, I’m pretty sure, so I have to wonder, Why are they still doing it? The shop is actually halfway between Kyoto and Nara in Joyo-shi (surrounded by agricultural fields). I can’t bad mouth Joyo-shi because a friend was born and still lives there.
A haircut in Japan is an old-world treat, if you’ve never experienced it. They give you a full-service shave with a French straight razor, and often finish up with a shoulder massage. There is something undeniably sexy about being shaved by a woman with a straight razor, no matter what her age. She has to be licensed to do it, by the way.
February 27, 2003 1 Comment
Mongolian blue spot
I have a purple map of Australia on my butt, after falling and “surfing” downstairs in my house the other morning, the first time I’d done so since just after we moved in 3 years ago. It has to do with foot size and Japanese stairs. But the location of the bruise made me wonder: If we (American guy of Danish/Irish descent and pure Japanese wife) had a baby, what are the chances it would have the so-called “Mongolian blue spot” that many Asian babies (I don’t know the distribution of this phenomenon) are born with? Anyone know?
Google it if this is the first you’ve heard if “Mongolian blue spot.”
February 27, 2003 145 Comments
Genkan – entryway
Near Yasaka-no-to (5-tiered pagoda)

February 27, 2003 No Comments
Kurama lanterns
This Kurama photo is NOT Anime. This is a picture of Kibune Shrine in the Kurama mountain area of Kyoto.
click for 800×600 desktop background/wallpaper image
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February 26, 2003 5 Comments