japan :: vending machines

No matter where you are in Japan, you are never far from a vending machine. Here is a selection of my favorite drinks. I didn't try them all, but I loved the packaging and unusual flavors.



'Power Hypotonic' and Jasmine Tea



From Aqua - water, I assume



Sparkling Pink Ginger



Smiling 'Natchan' orange drink and my personal favorite, C.C. Lemon



'White Soda', but where's Wally?



Banana au Lait (sounded pretty awful)



'Futte Futte Zeri': shake, shake jelly
Cola and grape flavored jelly drink (oddly refreshing on a hot day in Kyoto)



Adorable characters on Qoo (although the drinks themselves were not very tasty)






'I Love Vegi' ... not to be confused with ...



'I Love Apple'



We are SMAP! - why does a boy band need a sports drink? and what does 'Every Day Love Tomorrow' mean?
On the other hand, the bottle of Hachimitsu Lemon C (Honey Lemon C) is too cute for words.



Ultraman soda (lemonade, cola, and cider)


But possibly the strangest drink was this pancake-flavored milk shake ?!?!





I wasn't brave enough to try it but I'm not sure I missed much.


One of the most unusual drinks I tried did not come from a vending machine, but from Starbucks, of all places.



Coffee Jelly Frappuccino - not as bad as it sounds - but I'll stick to C.C. Lemon.


Ba ba da da dum! She She Remon!

Pic of the Week: 15 - 21 Nov

Sunset in Lisbon, from our trip in Nov 2008


Click on the photo to see a larger version on flickr.

japan :: kawaii

Japanese people are masters of kawaii (cute). Hello Kitty is alive and well.





Hello Kitty socks can be worn with Hello Kitty Crocs.





Hello Kitty on sale at the flea market





Amusingly, even a sumo wrestler on the Tokyo subway displayed no embarrassment at having a Hello Kitty charm hanging off his mobile phone.





And Hello Kitty reached out to her American friends on Sesame Street - why have only one cute character when you can have two-in-one?





In fact, accessories seemed to have their own accessories everywhere we went. In Nara, Hello Kitty made a very cute deer...





...much cuter than the official Nara mascot, celebrating its 1300 year anniversary:





Ugh, not so cute. But not nearly as paranoid as this little guy, seen at the Soba Festival in Matsumoto.





This kappa clearly needed a hug.





I hung out with Anpanman in Kawaguchiko.








Even the police have a smiling mascot outside their Tokyo offices:





And if you're not already smiling, there are reminders everywhere that you should be.



Seen in the Akihabara electronics district









Museum of Weights and Measures in Matsumoto











Pets are not immune to the cute character treatment, either (although I suspect that a real cat would be even more surly than these stuffed ones if it was forced to wear a rabbit hat)





And even drinks in vending machines sport big smiles





We found lots of cute drinks in vending machines, but that's a subject for an entire blog post...


Until then, to answer the burning question on your lips: 'yes, it's all cute, but did you bring any of it home with you?'





Of course! Kawaii, ne?

japan :: kyoto and nara

We arrived in Kyoto in the afternoon and headed straight to Kiyomizudera.





After spending a few days in the countryside, the size of the crowds was slightly overwhelming. I found myself more fascinated by the people than the temple.




















In the morning, we took the train to Nara, which is famous for its deer.

















Todaiji, home of the world's largest bronze Buddha, was being prepared for a festival.











After a few short hours, we returned to Kyoto and caught the sunset at Ginkakuji, my personal favorite.




















The following morning, we continued our whirlwind tour by visiting the iconic golden pavilion, Kinkakuji.








Last, we went to Ryoanji, which was significantly quieter and more peaceful than the others.

















I took a video of leaves falling off a tree into the rock garden: look closely.





After so much traveling around ... rushing people ... aggressive deer ... giggling school children ... rude hotel staff ... inattentive restaurant servers ... slow trains ... fast trains ... neon signs ... ever-present tannoy announcements ... it was lovely to sit for a few minutes in near silence and just breathe, watch, observe, contemplate, meditate.


It was beautiful.


But short-lived! As soon as we came outside, we were accosted by a troop of junior high school students asking us questions in English for their homework. Since I used to assign my students the same project when they went on their Kyoto trip, I figured it was karma: what goes around, comes around.





Perhaps the zen lifestyle rubbed off a bit after all...