Uji River Fisherman

Sunset by the river at Uji.

As in other countries, Colonel Sanders statues outside branches of KFC in Japan are seen dressed like Santa at Christmas time, a tradition that has been commonplace since the fast food chain’s launch here in the 70s (and the reason why many Japanese people still mistakenly believe westerners eat fried chicken for Christmas dinner!). Unlike KFCs in other countries however, Japanese KFCs also have summer-wear for the Colonel, and it’s commonplace for the statues to be dressed in yukata in July and August (though always removed on September 1st). And last week I discovered this new addition to the Colonel’s wardrobe, a samurai outfit.

Check out these other unusual photos - the vomit bar, the Harajuku oddball, the claw machine with live lobster prizes and the ‘ultra big’ condoms’.

Boy’s Day Carp Flags

Koinobori carp flags used to celebrate the Boy’s Day (also known as Children’s Day) public holiday on May 5th.

Cherry Blossom Puddle

Fallen cherry blossom petals in Osaka-jo koen. Thanks to Emma Patey for the idea for this one.

Photos of Osaka’s Korea Town

Following my article about Tsuruhashi here are more photos from my recent visit to Osaka’s ‘Korea Town’. While uploading my photos onto Flickr I also found these good Tsuruhashi photos from another user.

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Ume (plum) blossoms at Kitano Tenmangu, Kyoto

Now that it’s March hopefully Spring’s just around the corner. While cherry blossoms are famous for heralding the start of Spring in Japan, plum blossoms actually come out a little earlier.

Never Too Old For Harajuku

Previous Photo of the Month photos have all been places or things so I thought it was about time I included some people. This guy I met in Harajuku kept shouting “kingyo” (”goldfish”) - I didn’t know why until I looked more closely at his unusual hat and saw two live fish.

Check out these other unusual photos - the vomit bar, samurai Colonel Sanders, the claw machine with live lobster prizes and the ‘ultra big’ condoms’.

Checking out Osaka’s Korean area

As a big fan of Korean food and culture I was eager to check out the Tsuruhashi area of Osaka, the city’s ‘Korean Town’, and headed down there last week. The noticeably ‘Korean’ part of Tsuruhashi is found where the JR, Sennichimae subway, and Kintetsu railway lines converge and the area around the stations is a rabbit warren of narrow alleyways full of character.

The west side of the stations is home to numerous yaki niku (Korean bulgogi beef barbecue that you grill yourself at your table) restaurants, with a couple of streets devoted entirely to this cuisine. Several restaurants have been featured on TV and proudly display photos of the owners posing with tarento (TV personalities) who dined there, but more interesting than these were some of the menus outside the restaurants.
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Kagami-mochi, a traditional New Year decoration in Japan.

Happy New Year!

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