American World 



Tired of the izakaya scene in Kitakami? Maybe it's time to come to American World! Its combination of shopping, restaurants, and amusements seems to be very attractive to young people in Kitakami. I can't say it's all that American — the bookstore has hardly any books in English — but it does offer fast-food burgers, Baskin Robbins ice cream, and a Ferris wheel (invented by an American engineer in 1893).

(It's also home to the only hobby shop in Kitakami, but alas, they have no trains.)
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Sunset Rice 



The last golden rays of the sun, heralding the coming of nightfall, light the last golden ears of rice, heralding the coming of autumn.
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Demon Moths of Kitakami 

Some of the successful spiders here — outdoor ones, that is — have grown quite large. And the largest ones are the ones that have built webs on street lights, which attract bugs by the swarm.

Last week, while walking the dogs at night, we saw something quite large hanging from a web on a streetlight. It looked for all the world like a moth, but it was way too big to be one. Even if there was a moth that big, there's no way a spider's web would trap it. It had to be a bit of insulation or something.

A few nights later, it was gone. But something was fluttering in the light. We could see it easily from 100 yards away. Was it a bat? A small bird? No, the movement wasn't right. It was very fluttery and quick. As we got closer, we could see its wings going very, very fast. It was moving too much to tell for sure, but it really seemed like a moth the size of a baseball.

Later, we discovered one that had landed, so we could get a good look and photos.



Here's another look, along with Stefanie's hand to give a sense of the scale.



I hope these things never start eating my suits!

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Innovative Use of Color 



Memo to Sunduell (Sundwell) Apartments: just because you have the paint doesn't mean you have to use it.
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Whoosh! 



The other day, we were at the station to see off some visitors. We decided to spring for the "platform pass" that would let us onto the shinkansen platform, so we could see them all the way to the train.

After their train left, we stayed on the platform a while to take some photos and enjoy the passing trains. Trains that aren't stopping don't even slow down, so this one may have been going as fast as 275 kph (171 mph).

(For anyone keeping score, this is the E3 Komachi end of an E3/E2 coupled set, heading north. E3 Komachi 6-car trains and E2 Hayate 10-car trains often run coupled together from Tokyo to Morioka, where they split; then Komachi runs west to Akita while Hayate continues north to Hachinohe.)
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Kitakami Swans 



Kitakami is at least a little famous for its swans. This is actually a recent development, or so we're told. I guess swans migrate through here, and about five or six years ago, a couple of swans somehow got broken wings. Since they could not fly, their whole family (six swans) decided to make their home here year round.

You can see the broken wing on the one in front.
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Shrine 



Wherever you go in Japan, it seems you are never far from a Shinto shrine. They are everywhere, tucked between houses in residential areas, on a hillside in the country, or in a narrow space between hotels in the heart of Tokyo. Every day on my way to work, I pass this medium-sized one with well-kept grounds. It's on a strip of land about twenty feet wide, between a parking lot on the left and a house on the right.
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Yo, Ho, Ho! 



Not too subtle, is it? I wonder if they respect intellectual property rights.

Don't forget, today is International Talk Like a Pirate Day. Shiver me timbers!
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The Right Tool for the Job 

As they say, if your only tool is a chainsaw hammer, every problem starts to look like a summer camp nail.



We decided to splurge and get some ingredients to make burritos ($9 for a pack of tortillas and a can of beans?!), but forgot that we didn't have a can opener. For the record, the hammer didn't work. Faced with the choice between burritos without beans and going out into the rain to get a can opener ¡½ well, it wasn't much of a choice, really. I got wet, and we had beans.
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Llama Llama Duck 

Okay, there isn't actually a llama here. But there are ducks, and they always make me think of the song.



related link
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