Ghost of Nanachi-baka

 Located in Makishi, Naha, Okinawa

Not far from Miebashi Station on Yui Rail is a hill we'll call Nanachi-baka.

Best translated as Seven Tombs for the family burial sites which stood there.

Surrounded by the concrete of Naha, it's on private property but the woods are visible.

Thanks to Google Earth Pro you can see the terrain. There's a bit of greenery in the image.

Whenever you spot a grove of trees on a hill in the city, assume it's some sort of sacred place.

If it weren't special, developer bulldozers would have claimed the land.

Another scene borrowed from a Google Earth screenshot at ground level.

Miebashi Station is on the left side of the image frame.

Show Us the Ghost!

Alright, alright first let me do some explaining.

After three days of unsuccessfully trying to reach Banksy here's what I decided.

Draw the pictures myself or attempt to sketch them with a pencil and paper.

Should a real artist show up, these sketches will be replaced. I promise.

Nearby this grove of trees a young woman would purchase candy around closing time.

She hands the cashier Japanese yen to pay for the sweets. Then off she goes.

The problem is, the next morning the shopkeeper noticed the money had changed.

The yen note had turned into uchikabi (symbolic paper notes) given to dead spirits.

Kind of Mysterious

These little mom-and-pop stores are in competition with some big chains.

So, to stay in business, you have to keep an eye on the profits.

Next time that gal comes into the store late at night she's going to be followed home.

Sure enough, another night the woman comes by and gets more candy, paying with yen.

The store owner follows from a distance. It's dark outside.

The girl with the candy goes into the woods of Nanachi-baka and disappears. 

At one of the tombs, a baby could be heard crying. The storekeeper looked inside.

The woman who bought the sweets was dead.  Candy wrappers were near the baby.

Local villagers made sure the mother got a proper burial and raised the child.

The ghost was never seen again.

Happy Halloween!

PROMISE

This is the last time I will try doing sketches!

March 14th--The "Other" Valentine's Day in Japan

March 14th is White Day

 

Things are done a little differently in Japan.  Guys are the only ones who receive Valentines on February 14th.

Probably, half the candy sold during the year, in this part of Asia, flies off the shelves during February.

Women buy it for the men in their lives.

A month later, the guys are supposed to give gifts to the ladies.

Maybe, another 20% of the year's chocolate sales occurs during the month of March.

Guys tend to forget stuff.  So, here's a reminder.

Last night, I went and bought a bunch of chocolates, on the way home.

Knowing I'd be busy tonight, I started passing out my White Day gifts early.

After I saw about three of the sweethearts, I had enough beer and went home.

Wildlife photographers have to be up early in the morning.

Thank These Love Birds for the Reminder

Walking along the bank of the Okukubi River in Kin Town, Okinawa, Japan I spotted them.

It was March 13, 2013 at 10:36AM when I started taking these photos.

The captions, ahem-ahum, are just my imagination, talking to you.

Him: Hi, Honey.  What's for supper ?

Her: It's White Day and you forgot to bring me a gift.

What's for supper ?  What's for Supper ?  What's for supper ?  That's all you have to say ?

Guess what, you insensitive duck ?  You're swimming in your supper.

  EAT IT !

He tries some and it tastes like fish so, he spits it out.

Him:  OK.  It's White Day.  I'll go get us some pizza.

Her: Don't forget, ANCHOVIES.

Dudes, if you are living in Japan, don't forget, the Other Valentine's Day !

You May Also Like:  These Birds on Valentine's Day Cracked Me Up

Amazing What You Can See at a Bullfight (Photo Essay)

This isn't a matador.  It's a guy demonstrating martial arts in Okinawa, Japan.

He leads a group of taiko drummers, too.

What these photos show are some of the amazing things you can see at a bullfight, only in Okinawa.

The guy in the black suit, he's the master of ceremonies.  Look at those horns !

Blue, purple, yellow and green creatures run around dancing and snapping while those cute little girls are playing their drums.

Some really ugly old ladies brought friendly looking bulls into the ring.

But, they were alright, I guess, because they passed out candy to the kids.

After they run out of candy, they start making trouble, though.

Like, one of the witches is telling her bull to go over there and fight with another one.

So, that's what he does.

When the poor bull that didn't want to fight ran away, everybody started laughing.

It's just amazing, some of the crazy things you can see at one of these bullfights.

Almost forgot.  They had some of these big guys, too !

Note to locals: If you were at the Ishikawadome in Okinawa, Japan for this event, your photo may appear in an album on my Facebook Page.

                                                      IF YOU LIKE, I CAN EMAIL ONE TO YOU.


Visit my homepage for: THE PHOTO OF THE DAY

Sunday's Silly Sign (Photo) from Okinawa, Japan

This gem of a Sunday Silly Sign was actually a photo I took on a Sunday.  That was yesterday, right about noon, local Japan Standard Time (JST).

The photo was shot inside one of the UNECSO World Heritage Castle Parks.  I zoomed-in nice and close so I could crop out all the fancy Japanese writing.  I don't get paid to translate that stuff.  So, I don't.

The sign looks fairly self-explanatory, to me.  But, you never know.  It may be confusing to some people.
I figured it meant something like, No Dogs Allowed and some other stuff.  Silly me.

As I was leaving the park, some gal was walking her dog up the hill, right past at least two of these signs. She was a local so, I figure she can read the bold print on the things.

It was a humongous dog, too.  I don't reckon the dog was a seeing-eye-dog or anything like that because she let the critter off his leash.

Maybe, they just don't want little puppies running around inside the castle park and full grown Rotweillers, Great Danes, German Shepherds and Huskies are OK with the folks at UNESCO.

Something must be lost in my translation. Now, I'm starting to wonder if I guessed wrong as to what that is behind the puppy.  It could be some kinda chocolate chip candy or soft ice cream cone UNESCO doesn't want people bringing in their parks.

If you are anything like me and don't like little puppies or kids running around your yard littering the lawn with chocolate kisses, go ahead, download and print this Sunday Silly Sign and post copies all over your property.  That's what I think I'll do at my house.  After all, man's home should be like, some sorta castle !

You might also like Mr. Coffee, Now You Dunnit

Visit my Homepage for THE PHOTO OF THE DAY

Valentine's Day in Japan: An Insider's Tips

         Valentine's Day in Japan is a special day for the men in your life.  Ya hear me ladies !


Here is a photo, I got permisssion to snap, of an American Valentine's Day display in one of my favorite American grocery stores in Okinawa, Japan. 

Humongous heart-shaped boxes of chocolate with fancy words and flowers for the Ladies in your life, Gentlemen.

And little Snoopy Dogs with little heart-shaped boxes of chocolates for the little ladies, like your daughters. It's like a mandatory thing. Buy those special ladies a Valentine or you are doomed.

Forget to bring something special to those extremely important ladies in your life and you will be considered an outcast for the rest of the year and, maybe, even the rest of your life !

The photo above is a Japanese grocery store's Valentine's Day display. The chocolate boxes are much smaller but, there's a heck of a lot more available.

In Japan, half of the chocolate (sold during the whole year) flies off the shelves during the week leading up to Valentine's Day.

Men don't buy the stuff. Women buy it.

That's right, girls and ladies buy the chocolate for the boys and men in their lives.

There's fancy European-sounding names on the boxes of chocolates in Japan's stores, too. But, if you take a good look at the "top of the shelf" stuff, hah ! 

They have Scotch and Gin and Booze, maybe, even chocolate-covered beer candies. Some Dudes, like me, aren't all that thrilled with eating chocolate candies, ya know.

Here's the way it works. Nobody in Japan really gives a hoot about St. Valentine, except maybe somebody who's real interested in Saints.

Like, that song "When The Saints Go Marching In" was popular over here, years ago but, mostly just because it was a catchy tune.

But, the Christian population is probably less than 1 % and Valentine's Day is just a way for the chocolate peddlers to get rid of millions of choclate candies. Saints have nothing to do with it, just like most places around the world. 

It's a merchandising scheme.  And it works so, let's keep doing it.

In Japan, girls give Valentine gifts, not guys. The women give Valentines to classmates, bosses, coworkers, boyfriends, relatives, any man they feel is important in their life. It doesn't mean they love you, or anything like that. Maybe, maybe not but, there is one thing you have to remember.

March 14th is White Day in Japan. That's the day every girl who gave a Valentine to a guy is waiting for. Men: You are supposed to give the ladies in your life a gift on White Day.

Everyone, wherever in the world you may be: HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY !