Yep, those are little octopi on sticks.
I took this photo at Nishiki Market in Kyoto, the first multiday trip I took after arriving in Japan. Nishiki is a massive street market selling all sorts of seafood and Japanese goods, and it was also crawling with foreign tourists looking for exotic snacks. (The “EAT NOW OK” sign is partly visible in the background, a note to those who might be confused about Japanese customs for eating outside.)
(Oh, and if you’re just joining in, this post is part of a larger series of cool adventures I’ve had since coming to Japan, so you can start with Series 1 for the full shebang.)
JR ticket from Kanazawa to Kyoto on the Thunderbird express train. When I first came to Japan after college it was super difficult figuring out all the different trains and tickets and schedules and fees, and overcoming those hurdles was a huge confidence boost that made me feel really good about my ability to live in a foreign country.
Trains in Japan go everywhere, and are super convenient—even in rural areas like mine they run once an hour or more. I use a rechargable passcard for regular travel and can buy express tickets like this one from vending machines at the bigger stations (which fortunately have English options).
More fish at Nishiki city market.
Cafe at the Four Seasons Hotel in Kyoto. We stayed for coffee, but the room price was…outside of my budget ;-)
Walking around outside the Four Seasons was free, so we took a stroll around afterward. The atmosphere was tranquil, with an enormous pond, quiet gardens, and plenty of room on the terraces.
Outside the Kyoto National Museum.
One weekend I took a bus into the mountains and hiked to Matsukura-jo, the ruins of an old castle in Uozu City. The castle itself is long gone, but in it’s place is a quiet meadow covered with low mountain plants that makes the place feel like something out of a fantasy novel. There was also a small shrine atop the mountain, and from the edge of the old wall you can see Toyama City, Toyama Bay, and the Noto Penninsula.
Toyama prefecture is also full of dams like this one, which was near the castle ruins. The dams are cool to explore because each one looks different, and the styles differ depending on the age. Having so many dams here made for cheap electricity, which attracted a lot of factories to Toyama after World War II (most of which are gone now).
Dried persimmons hanging outside a village window. Persimmons are everywhere here, and they’re cheap and easy to grow. Dried persimmons (hoshigaki) are an especially popular dish because the persimmons themselves are hard and full of seeds, making them difficult to eat.
Small vegetable garden in Toyama. Rice fields and vegetable gardens tend to be spaced out in suburban areas without any rhyme or reason, and most of the time the owners live offsite. I like them because they give the neighborhood a more random feel, and add some much-needed green, since Japanese suburbs can be pretty drab.
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