The Same But Different: Domino's Pizza

This ended up in our mailbox. It's junk mail, but I thought it was really interesting. Click any of the images the larger version. Unfortunately, I can't find an option on my scanner to remove the appearance of all the printing dots...it looks smooth to the eye, but it's not as pretty in the scan. You'll have to take some of this on faith.

Cover:

Nothing that looks like any toppings I've seen before. Top left looks like chicken, mushroom, and chivey things; top right looks like shrimp cocktail and broccoli; bottom right might be beef with Japanese mayonnaise and chivey things again (which is probably way more delicious than it sounds); and the bottom right might be ham, pineapple, and something green that doesn't appear to be either broccoli or avocado.


Inside left:
You can get FOUR different kinds of pizza toppings on the same pizza! And we thought we were being adventurous with our splitting pizzas in half. And at the bottom they offer a hot sub called "Too Much Meat." Does Domino's in the States offer subs and pasta now, or is it just here?


Inside right:
Wow. Just. Wow. A lot of these look really, really good. If you only click one image to see the bigger version, make it this one. The pizza topping array is astonishing, I've never seen this kind of variety out in town. The sides look pretty interesting, and the desserts look pretty good.


Back:


It looks like I might be able to order a pizza online.
I might have to do that.

I can't speak or understand well enough for a phone order, but I might be able to successfully muddle through a website.


For the record, it's totally worth going to the site just to see the video commercial on the home page. www.dominos.jp It's no work of cinematic genius, but it's amusing. My favorite part is when the Domino's girls barge into this family's home and set up the pizza in a boxing ring on the table and when the bell rings, she yells "FIGHT!" at the dad.

Flea Market Pretty

I think, when people come to visit, if we are able to go to a flea market, we have to do it. It seems to be the best place to find inexpensive souvenirs, often in the form of either jewelry or traditional clothing. I'm not sure I've ever seen a kimono or yukata pattern twice, other than the mass-produced ones sold at retail chains.

I went with a friend this past weekend and found a market that was a decent size, about as much room as a hotel lobby and a stretch of sidewalk. Not a lot of doodads, games, or toys, but there was a lot of clothing and jewelry.

We each purchased a yukata for our husbands (and of course I found out later that the one I'd gotten for my husband was a woman's yukata, which is disappointing because the colors and pattern are very manly. At least now I know what to look for.) and a haori (dressy jacket) for ourselves. The haori at this one particular booth were just amazing.

These were so unbelievably inexpensive, we would have kicked ourselves all day if we hadn't gotten them.

I'm not sure if the white stitching is intended to stay or if I should take it out, but I'm sure there are rules on the Internet somewhere.

The design looks like it might actually have been painted on, and the subtleties in the coloring are just stunning.






Now I just need an occasion to wear it.

Edit: photos of my friend's haori:

Adventure in Kyoto: Monday (Part 4 of 4)

Link to Part 3

After checking out of the rented house, we put our luggage in a locker at the train station (even the lockers are pretty!) and hit up the last few places on our list before heading back to Tokyo.

The Jishu Shrine.









Possibly the most awesome cleansing station I've seen yet.



We are all held up by wooden scaffolding.

This place is pretty busy in the middle of the day.

Part of this complex is a little area devoted to the Japanese version of Cupid, Okuninushi no Mikoto. He is the god of love and relationships, his messenger is a rabbit.

I thought this was kind of a nice cathartic thing to offer. Write your troubles on a piece of paper and put that paper in the bucket of water. When the paper dissolves, your trouble will clear up.

Lots and lots of rabbit motifs and love/lucky-in-love tokens.


And here's the guy himself! With his freakishly tall rabbit friend.

Heading to the train station. Cafe Kash - with MAYOR. It's just not the same without the Mayor.

We were able to sit together on the shinkansen this time, and here's a little video to demonstrate how very, very fast it is. The ride was about three hours, with one brief stop. The shinkansen travels at speeds up to 300 km/hr, or almost 200 mph. It's really, really swift. And comfy! We each had a fold-down tray and more legroom than we knew what to do with (if I'd stretched out my legs, I don't think I would have kicked the chair in front of me). We bought lunch at the station to eat on the way, but if we hadn't, we could have gotten something from the snack bar.

The cost of the shinkansen ticket is more than regular train (but a 3-hour trip instead of an 8-hour trip) but less than flying, if I remember correctly. If only flying were that comfortable.

Adventure in Kyoto: Sunday (Part 3 of 4)

Link to Part 2

Sunday was Flea Market Day. We went to the Daigoji Temple (seen here across a lovely water lily pond) and had a look-see.

After the look-see at the pond, we moved on to other buildings.
And the market.
This market just went on and on and on, some great deals, too. Watashino otto (my husband) and I each found some old kimonos for cheap and some old fans...we could have gotten anything from knicknacks and broken pottery to framed artwork or antique farming implements. Lots of kimono, lots of obi (the belts worn with kimono), lots of jewelry.

My new used kimono, as photographed later:

My Other's new used kimono, plain black except for the design at the bottom:

Can't wait until we have an occasion to wear them!


One more shot of the giant pagoda on the way out...perhaps we should have gotten closer, but we'd been there a couple hours already and felt that we were better off heading out to the next item on our List of Things To See Before We Leave Kyoto.

I tried some 7 Up Clear Dry...not as thirst-quenching as I'd hoped, but you can't win 'em all.

Lunch! I don't know if I've had a doria before, but it's good. This one is rice topped with shrimp, asparagus, and cheeeeeeese.

Then we went to get bus tickets! A day pass helped us get around the city to see all the things we wanted to see that day.
I like how you can get a bus ticket based on the catalog of bus seats.

Kinkaku-ji, a Buddhist temple. Known for its golden pavilion.



Even the ticket is pretty. Not golden, but pretty nonetheless.

No tripods or dancing behind video cameras!

There it is, in all its gold-plated splendor. We couldn't get much closer because of the moat, but it is pretty stunning.



And I saw a spider. Kind of a messy web, but I can't spin one that looks any nicer so I'm not really in a position to criticize.

Tiny picturesque waterfall.

Toss a coin. Get it in the metal pot and your wish might be granted! Or something. No sign or anything, just making a guess at why people would throw money at a pot.





I'm really not sure what to make of this fortune. I wonder how much gets lost in the translation.

Random cool-looking building on our way from one temple to another.

Next stop: the Ryoan-ji rock garden. The grounds were beautiful, but the majesty of the garden itself, zen notwithstanding, was a little lost on me.




No shoes allowed in the temples! This is true to varying degrees - some places there is just a small area where no shoes are allowed, in this one it was almost the entire building. I was breaking in some new-ish shoes, though, so it was kind of nice to take them off for a little while.




Here it is, the famous rock garden:

This might be a moss garden, I'm not sure. No grass, it's all moss.







Remember to push dust IN. Pulling it out is strictly forbidden!

Waiting for a bus, random storefront.

Looking for another bus stop, this was in front of a corner store. I have no idea what its significance is.

I love the fake bamboo wall in front of the real bamboo forest. This is just outside our last stop of the day, the Nanzenji temple.






Is that...is that an aqueduct?

Yes, yes it is.
It is, in fact, an aqueduct.


We walked on a little further and found a place where the trail led uphill until the water was at ground level, and we walked along the edge of the aqueduct for a while. Very picturesque, but my camera battery was dying, so you'll just have to take my word for it.


One last shot, walking underneath.


We left just before sunset. Beware the glowing water!

I forgot this video from the previous night - fire poi dancer street performer we saw on our way back to the house after dinner. Super cool.



Beverage stop on the way back to the house yielded a drink so odd-sounding I had to try it. It was kind of milky, but otherwise unremarkable.

This is excellent apple juice.

So this is what France tastes like...kind of like peaches and cream. Who knew?

Stay tuned for the thrilling conclusion!
Link to Part 4