Zach awry in Japan

23 September 2008 Day trip to Kobe

Today was a day off because of the fall equinox. Genbo explained to me on the way home from daycare the other day that night and day were the same, which is why he had vacation. His teacher and a good oni (demon) had explained it to him. I have no idea what kind of teaching aids they use at his daycare, but it being run by a Shinto shrine and all, it seems I have little grounds for complaint.

So, we decided to make a trip to Kobe for the day. It’s a fun, very cosmopolitan town, with a bunch of European-esque cafes, an old Chinatown, and a monorail that Genbo was dying to ride.

All these photos were taken with a Sigma 30/1.4 on loan from Jeffrey, who went to great lenghts to secure a good copy. And, judging from the quality of these pics at very wide aperture, he certainly did a good job. (You sure you don’t want to reconsider that trade, Jeffrey?)

On our way to a great cafe we went to last time, I spy a classy shoe store catering to the ideal of understated elegance that young Japanese ladies are known for.

The cafe was as excellent as we remembered. The pastries and coffee were all first class. I definitely recommend it to anyone visiting Kobe. Of course I have no recollection of what it’s called….

I still remember the time my uncle Tommy taught my brother and me the trick of plugging the top of the straw with your finger, bringing it to your mouth, and then letting go to drink one strawful at a time. I took this opportunity to teach Genbo, and he only spilled a few strawfuls of grapejuice on his shirt before getting the hang of it.

16 September 2008 Too funny not to post

Pre-Game Coin Toss Makes Jacksonville Jaguars Realize Randomness Of Life

16 September 2008 Bamboo Tomato Latice

…from my father-in-law’s garden

7 September 2008 Houzuki!

This here is called a hozuki in Japanese (Physalis angulata in English). This particular specimen was given me by a photographer I know. They’re mainly used for decoration, although with the leaves intact (example here) instead of disintegrated as in this one. It was basically the perfect excuse to break out the big heavy glass, which I’ve been itchin’ to do for a while.

If I were sophisticated I’d combine these last two images into a rollover (don’t worry if you don’t know what that means), but I’m not, so I’ll have to wait until my friend with uber geek powers gets back from the States.