Brooms
Here is a quick collection of brooms. I found them interesting because at technologically advanced as Japan is, their brooms have maintained a less modern flare.
Construction "Cones"
The following items were used to create fences or barriers around construction projects, mostly on the roads. The one I saw but never got a picture of was dolphins.
Glass Floats
Here are just a few images of glass floats we found. Two of the images were from the Nelson household in Misawa, the two on the wire stands were at a thrift store and there was a box of softball sized ones at a thrift store that I never took a picture of.
Mailboxes
Those of you that follow my blogs know I love mailboxes. Here is my collection from Japan.
Man-Hole Covers
Once we noticed these man-hole covers beneath our feet we bagan looking for them. I'll spare you the details of where each one was located. Some designs are obvious and others take a little more concentration. See if you can locate the Hachinohe Horses, the Lion-dog from the shrines and temples, Mt Fuji, two castles and Lake Towada.
Thrift Store Treasures
Yes, this is a big section...lol. Come rain or hot afternoons, we could be found in a local thrift store (or a museum). The shops up north were SO fun! The ones in the cities down south were mostly clothing that didn't fit. But the stores up north had the most fascinating items. I didn't even take pictures of all the furniture and kitchenware one could purchase. It would be so cool to outfit a home from these stores!
Below are a couple of store fronts. Most of the ones we went to looked more like the one on the left with many items outside.
Figurines
Figurines were a hot item, especially Buddhas in all shapes, sizes and ages.
I'm not sure what these figures represent but they would show up pretty often.
Anime figures were another abundant item.
Animals
Aaaah the tanuki, Hannah's favorite character of lore. ;) They also came in many sizes.
Zodiac animals were pretty prevalent as well.
Japan loves cats. A glance at anything related to Japanese pop culture will show you this: Hello Kitty. Cat cafes. Wearable electronic cat ears that respond to your emotional state. Massively popular comics like What’s Michael? and A Man and His Cat. The popular tourist destination Gotokuji, a temple in the Setagaya ward of Tokyo that claims to be the original home of the ubiquitous Maneki Neko, the “Lucky Cat.” The famous cat shrine, Nyan Nyan Ji, in Kyoto, which has an actual cat monk and several kitty acolytes.
However, Japan also fears cats. The country has a long, often terrifying history of folklore involving monstrous supernatural cats. Japan’s magic cat lore is wide and deep, ranging from the fanciful, magical shapeshifters (bakeneko) to the horrendous demonic corpse-eaters (kasha). I think the ones above are not that.
The komainus, or lion-dogs, were also easy to fine.
YES!!! THE PHOENIX SUNS GORILLA!!!!!!
The great Southwest was represented on occasion.
Miscleaneous
A good luck...thing.
Clothes that were cool but that she didn't purchase.
This is the size of refrigerator and freezer that is frequently used in Japanese homes. Hence, the purchasing of food for meals on a daily basis.
Well dressed figures? dolls? contained in glass boxes for display.
Images on metal.
An old hand crank ice shaving machine
Not sure but it seems to be sitting atop a torii gate.
A stone carving.
One of our favorite stores, The Cement Factory, in Nanbu. It had outside entrances to rooms and buildings, each with a different theme. This room was kitchenware. Others had furniture, figurines, paintings, etc.
Toilets and Bathrooms
Traditional Japanese Style
We first encountered toilets such as these in Nepal in 2018 so we expected to find them here. And we did. Given a choice we went Western Style every time.
Public Toilets
The shapes on these doors were common. It took me a minute to realize what they meant. The circle is the head and the triangle is the shape of either a stereotypical male or female body. No legs. It was always amusing to watch people (tourists) stand in front of them for a minute before they chose which one to enter. These doors have a cheat sign on the tile in the upper left of the picture.
It was on this trip that I discovered the Bidet. Our friends in Misawa introduced us to it in their bathrooms and we found them throughout the country, in hotels, public bathrooms and restaurants. Yes, Ellen ordered us one when we got home.
Thank goodness someone thought to have bathroom instructions in English as well. I love the one to the right. The translation took a little translating. Touchless flushing was a thing. We spent the time sitting and doing our business on reading everything around us so we'd know how to flush when we were finished.
Rest Stop
This was amazing. They are from two different rest stop bathrooms but the idea is the same. To the right you see many stalls with numbers. Above you see an electronic "map" of the stalls. The "map" has a legend that lets you know which stalls are Japanese style, Western style, have baby chairs, changing stations, etc. You can refer to the "map" to see which stalls are occupied or vacant based on the light next to the stall, Red for occupied, green for GO! Brilliant I'd say.
What is this?
This may have been in a store? a restaurant?, not sure, but it was a large, fancy bathroom with a toilet, a sink and a...?? Does anyone know what the above thing is? It has a flush button on the wall to the left.
How to use a bathtub
We got schooled on this in Misawa and initially found it very curious. But then, it made SO much sense! This is a hotel bath and shower room. Our house in Misawa had one similar in their bathroom.
You walk in, close the door, fill the tub while showering outside of the tub, on the floor. Once you are clean you step into your tub and soak. The same ritual is done at an onsen (bathhouse) popular throughout Japan. One is not to soak in their own dirt, or anyone else's. Duh, right? It is then more feasible for several family members to soak in the same tub, one after the other, if the water is clean and not also the cleaning spot.
Now you can think about this philosophy every time you see a sign to shower first before entering a swimming pool, hot tub or the like. Because I can assure you, I was not that diligent about it in America.
Hotel Bathrooms
This is the toilet in the ryokan we stayed at north of Misawa. It was down two hallways. Once inside the main door there were two toilet rooms, one for men and one for women. Both had toilet slippers at the entrance to use. The main room had a sink and some toiletries like toothbrushes and toothpaste to use as there are no sinks in the rooms.
This was the biggest and fanciest bathroom with a separate shower/tub room, toilet room and sink area. A three room bathroom! This was our hotel in Hiroshima.
These were two very similar bathrooms in two different hotels. The space was pretty small.
Bidet Control Panels
Two things happened while on the toilet. The bidet, if needed, had to be figured out, and then how to flush. Some bidet controls were on the wall and others were beside the toilet seat. The one below also offered a deodorizer.
That's it for this edition! I hope you enjoyed it. Until next time!
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