Matsuyama Scenes

To finish up the blog, here are a few scenes from around Matsuyama that didn't make it into any of the earlier posts.

It took me a while to understand this promotion advertised at the crepe cafe:

As the Japanese at the bottom explains, the special price is valid on any day of the month that ends in a "9", i.e. the 9th, 19th, and 29th.  Don't ask about the comma.

This is the local tourism promotion building.  I guess "Ehimesm" is a blend of "Ehime" (the prefecture in which Matsuyama is located) and the last two letters of "tourism".  A lot of expensive locally produced products are for sale inside.  When I walked by on this day, some filming was going on.

Not even the serious business of putting out fires is exempt from cartoonification.

This cafe was located across the street from my guesthouse.  But where's the entrance?  Why is there a covered stairway leading to ...  nothing?  I never did figure this place out.

I really liked the sign on "Tsuchiya: all kind of fishes".  You may find it interesting to know that the blue logo is a stylized form of the same character (魚 'fish') that is seen in red on the sign.

This was one of my favorite signs too.  I think they are pigs, judging by the curly tails.

This is the old bathhouse at Dōgo Hot Springs, which is featured (in phantasmagoric form) in the Miyazaki animated feature Spirited Away.  Erma and I bathed there, as have emperors.

I really liked the design and layout of this Ghibli Studio store in the nearby Dogo shopping area.  (They made Spirited Away, as well as Totoro and the other Miyazaki films.)

Like I said, it's hard not to pose when you come across a giant Totoro.

This was my favorite store on the Matsuyama tourist street.  Every item in the store is decorated with a cat.

Including me, as it turned out.

This pleased-as-punch fellow stood at the entrance of a video game parlor.

This is a daily menu at one of the izakaya (small-plate Japanese restaurants) that my host took me to on several occasions.  By the end of my stay I was able to read and understand enough of these menus to order a decent meal off one on my own.

Sunset from the top of Dōgo Park (about 7:30 pm, July 15, 2010):

Not far from the hot springs, just across from the Dōgo trolley station, sits the Botchan Mechanical Clock (坊っちゃんカラクリ時計).  It was built in 1994, exactly 100 years after the old bathhouse. Every hour, on the hour, the clock opens up and displays scenes from the novel Botchan. At the hour we caught it, an elderly gentleman was putting on an introductory show. In this video (which is a bit fuzzy because of the low light) you can see little bathing figures among the scenes.

Kyoto scenes

We spent two days visiting temple sites in Kyoto. Here are a few highlights.

Tōfukuji 東福寺

Yasaka Jinja 八坂神社

This is a shinto shrine, not a Buddhist temple.  This particular bright orange color struck me as very unusual, quite different from anything I've seen in China or Korea.  But we ended up seeing it in quite a few shrines over the next few days.

Kinkakuji 金閣寺

Ninnaji 仁和寺

This temple complex is not a very popular destination, and the day we were there it was nearly deserted. It was quite lovely, though.

We had omacha tea in a somewhat barebones ceremony.

During the time we were in Kyoto preparations were under way for the big Gion Festival (祇園祭) to be held in a few days. On the streets workers were assembling large floats for the parade.

Here's a little video showing workers adjusting the lanterns in the photo above, and another group moving a large heavy post down the street.

It's hard to avoid posing with Totoro when you see him in a shop window.