He resides in Asukadera, in the town of Asuka Mura, where I stayed for five months when I first came to Japan 13 years ago. We visited our relatives’ church there a few days ago.
The most amazing thing about this Buddha is that he survived fires and earthquakes that ravaged the very temple built around him – he was the only thing left standing, and the villagers protected him by wrapping him in straw. The current temple was rebuilt for him around 180 years ago. Unfortunately, whoever tried to repair his face did a very poor job of it, but he still projects a lot of power.
He’s the oldest Buddha in Japan.
Category: Photos
Ebi Fry (Japanese Hummingbird Moth)
An elusive Japanese Hummingbird Moth, aka “?????”
I finally caught one on film card, and he’s a color I’ve never seen before!
A walk to the estuary
This is the Sumoto River. It joins the sea just under the bridge. It is rich in mullet, and not much else, although they used to farm unagi in this area, before the big typhoon.
I’ve always liked this bridge, ever since I first saw it – when I came here for the job interview six years ago. Ironically, the cops like setting speedtraps right around the spot I took this picture and it’s the only place in the world I’ve gotten a non-parking related ticket.
A loading door on the top floor of the new city gymnasium, near Jusco (aka ” Mecca of Awaji”).
New Product Alert
First, an item that should prove immensely popular overseas:
JAPAN no kaori (“the scent of Japan”)
That’s right, it’s JAPAN branded toilet paper! Embroidered with the characters for “Takeshima” and “Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere,” using it will surely evoke visions of a glorious, chrysanthemum-scented future! Made with 100% sandalwood pulp.
…
Next up is the greatest thing since sliced mochi:
Sour cream in a tube!
Possibly taking their cue from Kewpie Mayonnaise, Nakazawa has replaced their line of tiny 130ml cups of sour cream with tiny 100ml tubes of the same! Brilliant!
(note: On closer inspection, the cup image I linked to is a 1 liter tub that I’ve never seen in stores, but it looks much the same as its smaller brother. Also, I always thought the mayonnaise-in-tube thing was strictly a Japanese phenomenon, but I encountered the same thing in Europe, albeit in wholly foil tubes, not plastic-covered foil.)
LARK – full circle
Behold two separate gifts from two different people, one from a person who doesn’t smoke, and another from a person who… doesn’t brush?
At first I thought it genius that a tobacco company would sell a toothbrush specifically to remove tar, but the logos aren”t exactly alike.
This product (the toothbrush) is just so… Japanese, somehow, although I can’t explain it. It has something to so with the free packs of Larks they used to hand out at ski lifts, and Mickey Rourke doing commercials for them as a matador (“Speak Lark.”), but I can’t pin it down any better than that.
Biwako Hot Dog (??????????)
This is a foodblogging post I have put off for a year and a half. The photos were waiting patiently to be edited on my desktop for all that time, and I continually ignored their pleas of “Post me! Post me!” So it is finally time for the story to be told:
A short time before encountering the Biwako Hot Dog, I wrote a post detailing the history of the Japanese fish sausage (which has turned into sort of a resource center for aspiring fish sausage makers worldwide – go read the comments!). So it was a happy coincidence that found us cruising the mountains around Lake Biwa, because the snowboarding trip we planned had been rained out. It was an absolutely miserable day, weather-wise. And the photos of death and decay on that link convey the mood we were in quite well.
The day was saved, however, by the appearance of a black and yellow kei (ultra compact 660cc class) van on the side of the road:
(click any of the images above to open a larger version)
The menu hanging off the back door of the van says:
Hot Dogs
w/wiener: 350 (yen)
w/hamburger patty: 350
w/ham: 350
Coffee: 100
Cola: 100
The photocopied papers stuck to the side windows were pretty crazy, stuff about how women are the bane of mankind and how God hates them (but men must respect them) and whatnot… The message was basically that the owner had had a hard life and gone completely batshit – we were intrigued.
The owner, an old fellow, was snoring when we walked up – classic! – and had apparently fallen asleep in the middle of preparations. He woke suddenly as we called to him and carried on with his actions exactly where he had left off, as if nothing had happened. We felt bad for waking him, and ordered three of each kind of dog. He was cool and gave us a couple extra – not many customers that day because of the crappy weather, I think.
The traditional Japanese hot dog is a hot dog purist’s worst nightmare. Even discounting the type with a hamburger patty or a slice of ham, the wiener type is sacrilege mainly because it employs fish sausage (examples here and here). Because of the use of this quite-inferior sausage, the entire experience is ruined for approximately 100% (+/-.001%) of westerners. (This is especially ironic because of the word ?? (“European style”) written on the passenger door of the van.) However, many Japanese profess to love this taste because it brings back memories of school lunches… Hey, to each his own – I sometimes yearn for the days of sloppy joes and tater tots, too.
Behold the traditional Japanese hot dog in its full glory:
What sets the real thing apart from all fish-dog wannabes is the curried cabbage shreds (prepared in the RINNAI oven seen in the photo third from the top), as well as the karashi (hot mustard) infused sauce slathered all over the top. Since the fish sausage has so little flavor (and actually the hamburger patty and “ham” were ALSO fish-based processed meat), the main flavor comes from the karashi, the cabbage, and the white bread bun. In a word: blah. However, if you ever have a chance to try this food item, it will give you a chance to taste the cafeteria youth of your Japanese friends, and in this regard, it has true cultural value (and at least it tastes better than okara, another contender for this honor)