Kansai Mixed Bag

a mix of photos from the Kansai region including osaka and kyoto

Peruvian pan flute a$$holes at tenmabashi near vivi's house.  there is no respite from these guys even in japan.

kyoto

crane or egret or something.

not actual bags, just prints of them outside the store.

being a mom in japan means this.  big baby basket in the front and chair in the back for your older child.  taihen.

one of the few places left that i wanted to go to was daruma dera.  its in an odd corner of kyoto so i walked all the way over there.  on the way i saw basically nothing of merit compared to what you can see elsewhere in more charming parts of kyoto.  on the way there is basically boring residential area.

don't know what the deal is with these paper covered ones.

if you didn't know daruma is originally from india and is a monk that meditated so long that his arms and legs fell off.  Daruma dolls are sort of motivational dolls, they come with no black pupils in their eyes and you make a goal/wish and then draw a pupil in the left eye and when you reach your goal/dream you fill in the other eye.  They are weighted at the bottom so they don't topple over and always right themselves if you push them, which is supposed to represent your perseverance and ability to get back up off the ground.  I think these are one of the best cheaper gifts you can give people because it has meaning at least.

i dig this stylized one.

in conclusion daruma dera is kind of disappointing because its out of the way and there is just that one room filled with dolls basically.  so i only recommend it if you love daruma and have been to all the other big kyoto spots already.  that's the case for me so it was ok.

met Masako's parents in Osaka for dinner solo.  They are too nice.

after dinner i went to the bath house with her Dad so this is what my hair looks like fresh out the bath.

these are the daruma dolls i bought at daruma dera this time around.  the one on the left is something else or has some other deal goin' on.