Japan's Cultural Curiosities - April 26

Japan is SO interesting. So much of Japan is comfortable and familiar, and then, all of a sudden, something comes at you from left field.

For example, while walking down the street past a construction area, you might see these interesting barricades. Can you imagine construction workers setting these up?

Some kind of bakery 

Huh?

Hey! Say! JUMP

Buy some today!

So it was very appropriate that our tour today was called Japan's Cultural Curisoities." Our excellent guide, Ikumi, showed us around the Ningyocho neighborhood of Tokyo. She led us through alleys and narrow backstreets and nooks and crannies. We saw many businesses that were over 100 years old - although many of the buildings had been destroyed by bombs during WWII and had since been replaced.

Using 100-year-old cast-iron molds, this man is baking a pastry that is filled with red bean paste.

Each one is shaped like one of these good luck gods who stand in front of the shop.

The fans in this shop are not cheap. Each one is a work of art.

This fan sells for about $900 USD.

Japanese schoolchildren have 30 minutes of "cleaning time" each day after lunch. They pick up litter, clean the bathrooms, etc. The schools do not have to hire janitors.

Boys everywhere like to play with traffic cones. These boys are probably too young for cleaning time yet.

This makes parallel parking seem easy.

They sell high-end beef here. The beef is so marbled you may not want to eat it.

Frittering away my time at the neighborhood croquette shop. Yummy. They came in flavors like potato and sukiyaki.

A liquor vending machine standing on the side of one of the narrow lanes. How do you keep minors from buying? Easy. Make them put their ID in the scanner on the upper right.

A beautiful obi (sash) in a kimono shop.

And speaking of kimonos, look who's coming down the street.

Oh, I'm not finished, but it's time for bed. Konbanwa!