In most countries I’ve spent any significant amount of time in—read that as very few—children, and especially babies, are to a certain extent fashion accessories. Japan is no different, and sometimes a bit more extreme than what we’re used to in North America. Today’s featured creature is the object (or is that subject?) of someone’s overdeveloped mothering complex.
Aerial Saskatoon
Today I’ve got some photos of Saskatoon, taken from the air as our plane made its approach for landing at Saskatoon Airport.
Canal City Kids
It looks like I’ll still be posting Japan photos for awhile. Today I’ve got two pictures of a pair of cute kids out at the mall.
More Piracy: Fairyland Death Shoes
Here’s something I could’ve posted as a comment or addition to the pirate post from a few days ago. I’ve chosen to give it its own post simply because it’ll make future searching for it easier. Plus, how often do you get to use a title like More Piracy: Fairyland Death Shoes?
Retro Writers
If you’ve spent any time in the Saskatchewan writing community, especially if that time was spent up to the point six or eight years ago when the Saskatchewan Writers Guild got a new logo, you’ll enjoy today’s photo.
Those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about need not despair, however. In my utterly biased opinion the photo is still worth looking at, even if you don’t get my regional Canadian corporate identity references.
No Need For Ruby Slippers
Well, we made it. There’s no place like home—though I’m not really sure what home is at the moment—and we didn’t even need to steal any witchly footwear to get back.
What follows is a brief summary of events. Hopefully it’s coherent despite my sleep-deprived brain.
Sign of Canada
By the time this goes online, I’ll be in a departure lounge at Kansai International Sinking Airport. In honour of my return voyage, here’s a photo that the bus used to take me past on my way home from Kokura.
Tobata Gion Oyamakasa
I briefly wrote about the annual summer festival that’s held in our neighbourood called Tobata Gion Oyamakasa in a previous post or two. The festival commemorates a historical event about 200 years ago where the residents of Tobata were cured of a plague or somesuch epidemic disease. I’d do further research but that will have to wait until after I have some spare time. Here are the in-blog links: a photo from the 2004 festival and a brief mention in my Sugawara Jinja post
The festival involves residents of each of four neighbourhoods carrying large lantern floats. On the first night, all of the floats converge near the Tobata ward office, and race laps around the park. On the second night, each float gets paraded through its respective neighbourhood.
The Coming Week: Blog on Autopilot
Between apartment cleaning, packing, disconnecting my internet connection at home, and travelling this week, I won’t have a lot of time to post, and I’m not sure if and when I’ll have a reliable internet connection again.
Having said that, I’ll probably have written enough posts to allow my automatic posting software to keep up with the daily blogging schedule until Friday. Beyond that is a huge swirling vortex of uncertainty. I’ve set up the posts to go online in the late afternoon (Japan time).
Cleaning and Muppets
Today was a national holiday called Marine Day. We spent the day cleaning our apartments, moving furniture between them, packing, and worrying about airline weight limits. We started around 8 this morning, and stopped at around 11 tonight, with brief intermissions to feed and rest. Though we haven’t really stopped with the worrying.
In the late afternoon, one of Jarrod’s classmates set up—with their drums, cymbals and flutes—in the park across the street with a couple of other kids. They must’ve practiced for two hours. It was quite something, especially with the hyperactive acoustics of the bare concrete buildings we live in and around. They gradually got better, but we were sure glad when they stopped.