photos for 'off the map again'
hangin' out with some of the enormous trees at a shrine in Shuzenji Onsen. 
pottery, japanese style: on a hand-turned wheel. since it apparently takes about 3 days to fire, dry, etc., they send it right to your house. booya. i can't wait to see what the finished product looks like....
what would Canada Village be without a beer? Just don't mention the fact that the cup is advertising american beer...
soaking in that rotenburo at the top of the ocean-side cliff. i had the place to myself for most of the time - an entirely unbelievable experience.
the granddaddy of engrish. leave a comment on what you think this note means. someone actually left a handwritten piece of paper with a real translation on it, so once i've gotten a few good guesses i'll reveal the big secret...
i can't quite figure out why this boat has all these huge light bulbs strung up. open sea grow op? seriously vision-impaired fisherman? i'd love to hear your guesses.
lazily fishing off the globby volcanic coast of Jogasaki.
a better view of the Jogasaki coast. note the hexagonal rock near the water. very similar (though less spectacular) to the Giant's Causeway in Ireland.
the gorgeous cherry trees blossoming at the top of mt. nesugata in Shimoda. the view was spectacular, the aroma powerful, and thus the atmosphere rather peacefu.
here's the cannon they had constantly trained on Commadore Perry's fleet when he arrived in the 1800s and had Japan open its borders. Shimoda is rather proud to be the town where this happened.
someone actually spent the time to knit a toque and make a cloak for this little statue. incredible. and this is by no means rare: every one of these statues i've seen is dressed similarly. they're statues of jizo, the protector of travellers and children. so, cheers to you, jizo, i respect and thank you for your work.
see? i wasn't kidding. rather less elaborate jizo clothes, but nonetheless all garbed.
that crazy ferry that zipped us smoothly over the whitecapped ocean waves to Oshima. that fin in front pivoted down to become a water ski sorta device.
the main crater of mt. nihara, the active volcano on Oshima. if you look close you can actually see wisps of smoke in the bottom of the crater. the colours were just brilliant!
posted by jesse @ 5:20 p.m.
4 Comments:
At 11:02 a.m.,
Anonymous said…
they fish at night and the lights not only help the fishermen see what they're doing, but I believe it's also somethign to do with attracting fish.
At 7:43 p.m.,
jesse said…
i can understand that, but that was enough lights to illuminate a football field! those fishermen must have horrible night vision after being exposed to such brightness.
At 10:20 a.m.,
sharon said…
So -challenge #1: I think the sign says something about how the water in the spa is replaced often and also that you should shower before entering and leaving. As for the lights - I go for the attracting the fish explanation. That, or considering the interesting Japanese cuisine, possibly to attract many huge insects to feast on if the catch is less than satisfactory!!
mom
At 6:07 p.m.,
jesse said…
on #1, not quite.
#2 - very close on the first idea (i since polled some folk and got the low down).
i can't see too many people commenting, so i'll just spill the beans:
the sign says 'enter the bathtub slowly because too much overflowing water can cause problems'.
and the boat lights are to attract squid. the squid love the light, so they just swim right up and get caught. piece 'o cake for the fisherman.
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