With friends just having returned from Japan and raving about Hanami (花見: flower viewing) and  others posting their Hanami photos on facebook, I began digging in my own memory box.

Hanami and the wheels of time

This photo was taken on the island of Kyushu in 1993, when it was just the two of us.

Baby Thomas and cherry blossoms

By April 1994, there were three of us. The following year, we took Thomas on his first Hanami outing. Having been such a drooling baby, he attracted so many Sakura (cherry) blossoms which would neatly stick to his chin and throat.

I do miss this time of year in Japan.

On our last leg in Japan we stopped at Marine World in Fukuoka. Just before entering the aquarium, we passed this little resting area. Please count – there are seven vending machines – with most of them carrying pretty much the same type of beverages.
These pervasive vending machines are easy to spot – whether backed by a traditional brown home, a hill top with blue skies, or just a bunch of trees.

Seven machines at one stop

The Japanese also tend to buy beverages as a small going away gift. These ubiquitous vending machines provide an instant opportunity to give a present to a departing visitor. While talking to people on the street, you might find yourself suddenly holding a beverage in your hand. On our last day in Japan when I made my rounds to see the former neighbors once more, each of them handed us three beverages. We got back to our friend’s van with 15 cans of gifts.

A regular evening at the table

(The hand on the left is mine – once again checking to see what kind of beverage I am about to open.)

Well, the following question comes to mind: Does Japan have so many vending machines because of a demand for this much consumption, or do they consume so much because of the supply waiting around almost every corner?

On our drive down from Mount Aso we stopped at this peculiar site to get a cup of hot coffee out of the vending machine, then were barked at by two little dogs. We petted a goat, and I had to ask our son about this roadside character. . It is

DORAEMON

perched in front of a souvenir shop on a less traveled winding road down the mountain side.

Doraemon has been a popular cartoon character in Japan.

During our 10-day stay in Japan I was always on the look out for Kappa -related objects. These figures, sitting next to the door of homes and restaurants, appeared quite often. I had mistaken them for Kappa until one of my Japanese friends told me otherwise. It is a Tanuki – a garden ornament representing a raccoon dog.

Shigarakiyaki is a most famous kind of pottery in Japan, and among its different products Tanuki stands out as a popular garden ornament.

According to the Japanese wikipedia, there is also another reason for its popularity. This time it lies in its phonetics: Tanuki can be split up into ta and nuki. Ta stands for other person and nuki (derived from its plain verb nuku) means to be ahead of others in a competition. As it’s a symbol of success, many businesses like to display one as a mascot.

To learn more about Tanuki, click here

Tanuki

and another one…

This one stands in front of a restaurant.

April 17, 2008

Getting ready to depart and once again “Itsuka kaite kuru”

We had to get up at 4 a.m. to leave the house by 5 a.m. to make this one-hour drive to Fukuoka Airport. We stored away last-minute gifts into our suitcases, checked in and headed for the gate to get on our 80-minute flight to Narita Airport.

With the flight taking off, I had to say good-bye to Kyushu — my favorite place in Japan. Taking off from Narita, I waved good-bye. The trees resembled broccoli and the fields a parquet floor underneath our wings.

The 11:40 flight returning to Frankfurt was uneventful and while landing I noticed the German landscape underneath us. The greenery looked like red-leafed cabbage and the fields were a nice patchwork of greens and browns.

One thing I have learned from this trip – I will not wait another 13 years to return to Japan.