Boozing and Power Rangers??????

28th-29th July.

So here we were catching up with some family and off to a Yakitori place, it involved booze, laughs and food  what more could you want? 

Oh, expensive dessert places and local matsuris?  Yeh we covered that as well.



No pictures of the yakitori, which was a shame as it was very interesting, the place was well known and split into a couple of different sections, it was most curious.  But after the Yakitori, we went down to a place called Takano Fruit Parlour.  I had been there last time I came to Japan and although it was delightfully yummy, the prices are ridiculous.  I had no plans to revisit the place this time, but at the insistance that I allow them the honour of experiencing it just once, my companions volunteered my wallet for another terrifying experience.

Service was very good, as was the food, but at the prices they charge, that’s what one would expect.  It is more of a dining experience than anything else and I found myself enjoying the extravagance of it all to be honest.  If I was a local, I wouldn’t go often that is for sure, but the whole time seemed quite fun.  Now let us behold the goodies we procured!

The plates.  Much class abounds!

On the left is a Peach set  and the right is a Trifle set, both being sets came with a drink.

I, being full of yakitori, decided to go with a chocolate paffe. 


That is just the top.  I could have sworn I had a picture of the whole thing, but it’s gone somewhere.

During the conversation over fruit delights, it turns out one of my compatriots was off to a ‘matsuri’ for a bit of volunteer work.  Having no plans for the next day, we accepted the invitation to go along.  Matsuri in Japanese has a broad meaning, it can be something as extravagant as the Nebuta festival or something as small as a school fete type gathering.

This one was being held by a Nissan factory and since I like this sort of thing, off we went.

29th July.

A train and bus ride later we were at the matsuri.  It was a hot day, no cloud cover and rather humid.  After helping out the family in their volunteer position for a bit, getting to chat with some of the other volunteers too, we finished the work and went for a walk to see what’s what.

There was a display police car and bike parked there and being somewhat fond of the front paintwork on the bonnet of the police car, I snapped a pic.  The bonnet is ridiculously polished though…


That’s the police crest there.  Looks quite similar to the imperial crest.  Whoo! reflective.

Then a walk around and seeing what was there.  Which resulted in mostly snacky goodies, fried squid, popcorn, sausages on a stick.  Nothing substantial for lunch.  It looked like I was the only foreigner there, which resulted in me being accosted by a dude at his food stand, bellowing out “Welcome” at me way more times than was really necessary.  I suspect he had been indulging in too much of his own beer at the time, as had most of the guys at the stands.  Sheesh!  Tents all around and one that had water spraying from it, which was nice, but it was packed full of people.  Hot, sunny, humid day….  Hmm, not so great for walking around a matsuri.

The Nissan factory did have a small museum showing the development of engines and suchlike that had been developed at the factory, which was a relief as they also had air-conditioning in there.  It seemed popular, probably more for the cool than the cars….

A short while later, a little show started up.  We went along and watched, it was rather enjoyable to be honest, but I did feel sorry for the guys in the suits.  They did so much jumping around, it must have been pretty awful!  It featured the current characters of Power Rangers, known as the Go-Rangers ( I think).  No Zords though.

Here’s my dodgily filmed video.  It ran for a good 15 minutes or so but I didn't film it all.  Good work fellas.