Sakuragumi, Ako Misaki and More, a set on Flickr.
Sakuragumi. Pretty famous around these parts, its the only hot cool restaurant in the area. 5 course meals, fancy spirits, incredible views. The city is also allegedly in the midst of a campaign to make the area a couples destination–check the pictures and I’m sure you’ll be able to see why they’re having no problem pulling it off.
This little unassuming pizza place, in the very rural city Wake, Hyogo, has probably the tastiest slices of pie you can get within a hundred miles (at least–another blogger seems to have come all the way from Osaka). That is certainly debatable, depending on your tastes (Sakuragumi in Ako certainly delivers a more traditional Italian style flavor), but I’d argue this is the closest I’ve had since arriving in Japan to real family-business style Pie from back in America.
The do have a website. It’s here. The cost is pretty reasonable as well, around 1500￥ per pie and Heineken on tap for another 500￥ a pint. Trust me, it’s worth the trip.
Though these models are ubiquitous and fairly inexpensive in Japan, putting one together was sort of a dream come true. I once wished for every transformer robot toy in the world for a birthday. Though that may be impossible (and undesirable, now that I realize how much space it would take up), I still think these things are fun and amazing feats of engineering and design.
I found this Sake at my local farmers market, here in Aioi. Then, while watching TV on another day, I saw a segment on a man who makes similar looking sake by literally catching live bees and drowning them in the sake. He said something about them being alive when they enter the Sake adding something. The man was wearing a cowboy hat, too. I was reminded of DFW’s “Consider the Lobster”. The Sake was 3000円 or about thirty dollars. No, I didn’t buy it.
Matsu is the term for pine trees in Japanese–and this is a very common form of topiary in the traditional Japanese garden. This is one of the longest I’ve ever seen. When I asked for a name for this particular element, the reply was only Matsu. The attention to detail and strategy involved can’t be far from bonsai, though.
Maybe rice? You got me. Lovely day for a bike ride. Or so you think, actually it was really cold and windy.
Just want to take a moment to mention this is near one of my schools which I was told would be shut down. It turns out it won’t be. Despite record low enrollment, the mayor decided, after a year of preparation, to give the school another year of life. However, with the declining birth rate in Japan, it may only be a matter of time.
A tree asks, “why” near a Ryokan just north of the Yanogawa.
The owner of the land took a moment to speak with me. He was a nice guy. No one in Japan knows where Indiana is, only a few know where Chicago is, but this farmer knew about lake Michigan. He also remembered giving me tissues as a prize for field day at the local school.
