3 in 30 - 2000.12.24 Sunday
new torii gate
When driving to the air base every morning for work and school, Beverly and Candy make a left turn at the corner where there is a small shrine. We don't see much activity at this shrine, except that a month or so ago, we saw some men removing the existing torii gate. Then, a new one was erected. The old gate was painted red, while the new one has been left unfinished.
Beverly and I were just remarking to each other about the beauty of naturally aging wood and how we wanted to incorporate natural wood into a house we are dreaming about.
KuRiSuMaSuChiKeN
Yes Virginia, there is a Christmas in Japan.
These young ladies on the corner in front of the Lotteria with the music box and microphone are encouraging people near the train station to buy Christmas chicken. You can get six pieces for ¥1000. That's about $1.60 each. The green sign with white lettering says "No waiting" which is appropriate for a fast-food hamburger shop.
Christmas cakes are also available. It seems that these Christmas cakes are quite a tradition in Japan. White cake with a white whipped cream frosting and strawberries are everywhere this time of year.
7-11 Christmas
We mentioned that this year they built a new 7-11 store in our neighborhood. In keeping with the season, the sign stretching across the front tells us "Merry Xmas Seven Eleven is Christmas." Just so you know.
When the school kids stop here en masse, the narrow walkway is crowded with students, bicycles and other pedestrians trying to get by. The white line marks the part of the street reserved for bicycles and pedestrians but the half meter space is often used as a parking lane by delivery trucks and cars.