So, I haven’t been specific, but just in case anyone didn’t figure it out, I’m in Japan. Was just in Tokyo specifically (writing this in Nagano).
Anyway, after waking up after a couple hours of sleep being out far too late on NYE, a grabbed a quick shower and headed to the small, nearby shrine I had stumbled upon the day before.
Yesterday, I saw there was a larger shrine and a small shrine off to the side. I had prayed at both.
This morning, I stood in line to pray at the larger shrine (it is custom to visit a shrine on New Year’s Day). Once that was completed, I saw there were tents set up selling food, beer, and sake (yes, this was at 10 in the morning). My hot sake on a cold day in hand, I sat down at some provided tables and started checking my phone.
As I have mentioned, a very good friend of mine passed away(/was killed) this year. I saw a post from his wife discussing the obvious difficulties their family has faced this year, which instantly sent me to tears. I decided I would send a prayer for their family, however from the smaller shrine as the line for the larger one was very long, being New Year’s Day and all.
As I approached, I saw a small man standing on a stone inside. He walked out before I entered and came up and started talking to me.
As he was talking to me, for various reasons, I could tell that he was a very sweet, small, old, and gay Japanese man. The fact it was relatively obvious is rare in Japan.
Anyway, my Japanese is pretty laughable, but I understood he was telling me that there was a large penis in this small temple, and that I should touch it because... I’m not sure (in any case, that’s why he was standing in the stone).
On my visit yesterday, I had not noticed any large penises (penii?). But sure enough, when I entered today: giant penis. No idea how I missed it.
So, crying for my friend and laughing because I knew he would too, I touched the giant penis, then sent a prayer for him and his family.
Happy New Year to you and yours.
Curious enough to google it; smart enough not to google it.
Having done the Googling, it is as advertised.
Not sure how it got missed, either.
FYI - Newsradio marathon on AntennaTV today.
Great story, but I touch a giant penis every morning. /rimshot
But do you pray while you do it?
Prayers of thanksgiving.
This is going to be one of those years
Both touching and unexpectedly crass. Thanks for that, jobu.
Inquiring minds want to know: are you going to try basahi while in Nagano?
Touching, yet crass. Yeah, I think that encapsulates me.
Gophers are gonna win this thing. Boat rowed.
I must say, as a Minnesota fan, I had bad thoughts going through my head all week regarding this game. The Gophs not only won, but they dominated the line of scrimmage and out played Auburn in all facets of the game (except for that kick return). Good for them!
We're heading to Outback for lunch after church Sunday. I'm going to make sure the gal from Auburn in our nursing home singing group knows it, too
After the Iowa and Wisconsin games, I had my doubts about today, too. But it was a good win and a very entertaining game. Ski U Mah.
Huge, huge win. I thought they could win and would at least keep it close, but I would have been shocked if you told me they would have an early TO in their own end of the field and allow a return for a TD and would still win the game. Those 2 things were the only reasons Auburn was able to keep it close, really. Also, Tyler Johnson's NFL draft stock just skyrocketed. The win for the Gophers was really needed because if they had lost, it would have felt like most of the recent good Gophers teams with one fluke upset of a great team thrown in. Also really nice to hear that Gophers fans seemed to be more dominant. They've had a reputation over the years of not willing to travel and seemed to get passed over by bowl games for lesser teams that were expected to bring in bigger crowds.
The new year is off to a delicious start. Not pictured: my “side” of nem khao tod.
I did a ski trip to Nagano prefecture a (long) while back. Every morning I was the first person on the slopes, with perfectly groomed ski slopes just for me. I didn't speak English with anyone for at least four days, and usually didn't know what I was eating at the dinner buffet.
When I left, I was confused that when I left my train to make my connection to a different train number, they pointed me back to the train that I came from. The deal is that they smaller trains just click in to the other trains going to Tokyo - different number but same train.
Happy new year from our influenza-ridden home! The peperoncino is through the worst of it and Mr. NaCl is somewhere in the middle of it. I'm hoping the jalapeño and I can continue to stay healthy.
This year I'm not exactly making resolutions (or praying at shrines or touching . . . oh, never mind), but I have been thinking about a possible new feature round these parts. The year 2020 is the 50th anniversary of the first Earth Day, and I think it could be interesting to do a monthly post related to environmental stuff and things we're doing in our own lives (or in our communities) to take care of this planet of ours. While I try to do some basic things, this is an area I'm hoping to improve upon in the new year. Would others be interested?
Yes. Very much yes to this. I’d love to hear what others do & reuse some of those ideas here.
Our December was very warm & nearly snowless, with only a modest snowfall the night of the 30th-31st. There’s probably no turning things around in my lifetime, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t try to do better.
From a logistical point of view, perhaps this should come in the second week of the month? Since books* are the first week and movies are the third?
*Hush. We'll be starting the year off right with a brand-spankin' new books post on 1/6/20.
I’m agnostic about which week it runs, but will note Mondays are my recycling/trash day.
Just my two cents, but if we do this I would prefer it to be more oriented toward practical, "things we can do in our lives" rather than big global issues that I really don't have any power to affect. But that's just me.
If my initial reply pushed the needle of perception toward individually-insurmountable global issues, that wasn’t my intent. I’d mainly like to hear about these practical things, too.
No, I didn't take it that way. I was just expressing my opinion.
Totally agree about focusing more on practical stuff. I don't have a lot of expertise to offer, but maybe we have a different theme each month (e.g. water conservation) and then can all share what we're doing or questions we have. And maybe in the comments for one month's post, we can come up with a topic for the following month?
Pepper: Agreed - good idea.
In Scandia I just ordered and used several times Utopia Kitchen (stainless steel compost bin), and just ordered the same for H'istan. Has a built in filter (to prevent unwanted odors).
This gets all of the household compostable refuse (coffee grounds, egg shells, banana peels, lemon peels, etc.) which then go into the square plastic deal in the back yard, for later use in the garden.