An Interesting Tree

Have you ever seen a tree decorated with vegetables before? I’ve seen fruit added to trees or the odd popcorn garland, but this is… interesting.

Back Alley Matsusaka

I was sent to Matsusaka in Mie Prefecture for a couple of days this month. While there, I managed to do a tiny bit of exploring during my lunch break.

There are many of these small alleys, lined with mom and pop restaurants. If I had more time, I would have liked to try them.

What happens when you miss the last train?

You can pay a small fortune to hire a taxi to drive you home, you can start walking and hope to make it before sunrise, or you can find a place to hunker down for the night. If you choose the last option, your overnight can be spent in a capsule hotel, a karaoke room, or internet cafe. Can you guess which I chose?

Surprising enough, spending a night in an internet cafe wasn’t bad at all. For about ¥2000 I got a tiny space (covered in super comfy vinal mats, pull out shelf/table thing and a sliding door), unlimited internet, an open drink bar, free run of the bathrooms. No one bothered me, save for a pair of neighbors locking lips at six in the morning.

Glass at Asuto Tsu

I see this interesting window every time I work in Tsu, Mie.

Signs

There’s just something about old signs that interests me. Of course there are the old neons, but before that there were a lot of old painted adverts on the sides of buildings, some of which are still there! I especially like the ones with phone numbers that begin with letters (usually short for the region or town) and a shot set of numbers. Generally, the older, the better.

Doll House

In Grand Central, Target built a huge doll house. When my friend and I went yesterday, we had to stop to take a look.