One of the things I love about McDonalds is that here, in Japan, they will come up with many limited time burger specials. I’ve blogged a bit about the Big America series burgers, but I think that the Korean BBQ burger was awesome! The sauce was amazing…*sigh* Why was it so limited!?
And, along with the special burger, you could wash it down with strawberry Pepsi! Actually pretty good, if a little strange / weird. Again, another limited time special and I wish it was back out.
At a Takasaki temple, in the city where Daruma were created, every year you can go there, buy a wooden Daruma and string you wish onto a wishing post. As you can see, on the front is the traditional face and on the back you write your wishes for the new year.
And on a different post / tree (I’ve seen both), you can tie your bad luck. I’ve been told that you can only tie it with your non-dominant hand to let it “fly away”. Mine (tied with my left hand) was still there later. (Does that mean I kept it?) :-<
Well, hello! Long time no write (which is completely my fault). I got a little snowed under, but I’ve pushed myself out and I’m coming back to Momiji Leaves with some more awesome pictures. I’m going to change the updating a little bit though. While my resolution for 2011 was to post a picture a day, and I did manage to get through most of the year, it was a bit hectic at times. I’m going to try to go to a three days a week timing, Monday – Wednesday – Friday. But we’ll start today with some special New Year photos 
I like to think of them as Decapitated Darumas (they kind of look like it, on the stick and all). Wait, aren’t they supposed to be red? And have a mustache? Well, yes, but this is before. I was able to go to Takasaki and see some daruma before they got painted! Pretty neat, huh?
This soulless looking thing was my empty Daruma that I was going to paint for the year of 2012. (Personal Daruma is not being shown since I don’t want to get lynched for destroying it) And below is the guy who made it look easy! (Pick up -> Paint -> Finish = >3 minutes) [And yes, before the new year this is a part time job he picks up. His family has been doing it for generations].
Today’s topic, boys and girls, is about f*ing in Japan. That’s right, f*ing, the best brand of stockings you can get in Japan from Don Quixote.
As for the second picture of the day, I’m proud of whoever wrote it. They clearly have been communicating with their local English speaking foreigners. 
So, in Japan it’s popular for magazines to include little presents for their customers; handbags and handkerchiefs for clothing issues, rice shapers for kid lunches and muffin cups for cooking ones, etc. The problems I see are twofold. First of all, I worked in a bookstore for a few years and I would love to know how many of this little presents are stolen from their magazines. Second…when the magazine is about porn…and the presents are used(!) [supposedly] panties….yeah…do I need to say anything more?
(I owe more pictures {24}, but I think today’s post is done )
The following mug was brought to you by Don Quixote, a pretty cool shop in Isesaki / Ota where you can find almost whatever you want. I didn’t buy this, but I pointed it out to my friends. A beer mug that has a crossed out picture of a sake bottle and cup, with the words STOP on the bottom. Does it mean stop drinking sake (traditional Japanese alcohol) or does it mean stop drinking period?…which is hilarious on a beer mug.
Ah, the Gun Bus! I’ve ridden this thing for 5 years now and this is the first time I’ve stopped and grabbed a picture! And before you think that there are a lot of guns or hunters on that bus, it’s short for GUNma, the name of the prefecture that I live in. Pronunciation is kind of like, GOONma, if that helps. 
{22 to go}
Okay, I know you can use the word Chum as a friend or a buddy…but as a Floridian, all I can think about is the Chum that gets you sharks.
And to complete Chum Hair, we have a very blurry picture of a Tropicana Apple Lemonade. Drinks are great here in Japan, but I wish I could find them after I enjoy them.
{that was really 24 to go yesterday, so now it’s 23. I promise, I can count}
Probably should have given some warning, but this was my busy month. Between speech contest judging, speech contest practice, practice for university English interviews, tests, normal classes and some other stuff (like getting sick), I had very little time to update…even with all that though, I’m surprised / saddened that my last post was October 5th.
Okay…I owe 26 pictures…let’s get started!! I promise though, not all today!
My wonderful husband on the left and me on the right…even though Halloween is not a big holiday in Japan, there are places that do some trick or treating (malls) and decorating (malls and shops) for kids (Darth Vader as a witch anyone?). This giant guy was at SMARK (Smile Park) in Isesaki. I might not be a child, but it was fun for the pumpkin to eat me instead of me eating pumpkin! (And after this, I had Pumpkin Lantern ice cream from Baskin Robbins). So it was a win-win situation.
Every year I get an American pumpkin for my English club to help me carve. It usually was bought from the Foreign Buyers Club (they’ll ship to me from Tokyo) but this year I was able to get a cheaper (i.e. smaller) pumpkin from the newly opened Costco in Maebashi. What I do is let my kids choose the face, and then I carve it (I love them, but don’t trust them around knives…just like my parents, I’m sure). This year (as you can see) is a starry eyed pumpkin. Last year the Jack O’Lantern had one star eye, one heart eye, a circle nose and the normal zig-zag smile. They’ve never chosen a scary face….
See why I call it Vampire Coffee? It looks like the vampire’s tooth is gleaming!
I wanted to get all of my Halloween pictures out of the way, so after today, it’ll be back to weird sayings, bad Engrish and other cool stuff. Hope everyone had a great Halloween (I did).
{23 to go}
Tamagotchi are little animals that were most popular in small electronics that went bleep and bloop when you had to feed them, walk them and play with them. They’re still popular here in Japan, and when my husband and I went to Tokyo, we saw a shop with this…fortune teller (from what I can guess)j in front of it.
And no, I didn’t put my hand in it’s mouth. I’ve seen enough horror movies
