Smash and Grab

A broken maneki neko display at a Shinsaibashi restaurant.

Sake Ippai

A lot of sake, in the kind of barrels often seen in Shinto shrines.

Daigo-ji Pillar

A pillar at Daigo-ji Temple where people carve their names into the paintwork and adorn it with stickers for good luck.

Uji River Fisherman

Sunset by the river at Uji.

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.

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’.

Kagami-mochi, a traditional New Year decoration in Japan.

Happy New Year!

Kobe Luminarie