Mitsujo Tumulus (V)

Different point of views of this ancient burial mound.

Horse-shaped haniwa. The second time I came to this site, they were already replaced with new horse-shaped haniwas like we see on the right image. 

Image on the left is the sunshade-shaped haniwa. It was modeled after a sunshade of the Kofun period. The underpart of this represents the shade and top of it is a model of an osprey. Image on the right shows a house-shaped haniwa. The ruler lived in the house similar to this one during his lifetime. 

The Japanese word Haniwa means "cicle of clays" and it refers to the unglazed red clay cylinders which were placed around imperial burial mound to stabilized the ground and support the roof of the tomb. First produced by the guild craftsmen of the Kofun period, Japan's Iron Age (3rd-6th centuries), haniwa evolved from simple cylinders into representations of people, animals and houses.

*Thanks Gary, for the link.

The last tumulus is Mitsujo No.3. This facility has a rectangular stone coffin about 1,5 meters tall and 0,2 to 0,5 meters wide. Nothing was discovered inside this coffin. It is now covered with tiles replicating the remains underneath.

The original tumuli were restored after they had laid for in the earth about 0,7 meters on deep.

These photos end my Mitsujo theme today. I hope you enjoyed them.

I am coming with a new theme tomorrow.

Hiro San: Kairimashoo (Let's go home)

Yuri San: Haik (Okey)

Kumori

Just love it, the darker the better :).

You have bajillion photos but don't know which to post today. Does it happen to you, too? I'm back with not so appealing photos from the street in front of my apaato. I was heading to an Indian restaurant, when got caught by rain. I liked it, unfortunately my camera didn't.

Hiro San: Ame no naka ni utatteiru (I'm singing in the rain...)

Yuri San: Ee, Jamie Cullum? (Jamie Cullum?)

* Kumori=cloudy, about to rain.

O namae wa?

He kept staring at me. What's so special? :)
Each person can only register one seal to avoid fraud things.  Starting as lowest as 100Yen to the most expensive one, it depends on the quality.

Yesterday while wandering the area behind my apaato I saw this little shop selling all seal stuff. Inkan or signature seal is a personal seal used in place of signature. There are registered seals (jitsuin) for official document purpose and private seals (mitomein). Is it interesting to have our own stamp-seal like those Japanese, Korean and Chinese people do?. 

Yuri San : O namae wa? (What's your name?)

Hiro San: Hiro desu (Hiro)

Hanami at Kagamiyama Park

What a great time they had.

An intimate escape.

While others were speaking loudly, these people spending their time in silence using sign language.



The latest version of Mozilla Firefox vs Google Chrome. What do you think?
I now have them both installed in my PC. I'm happy to have me back again, hope it will last :).
Last week was like Hansel and Gretel missing some of their breadcrumbs, I lost track of some favorite daily photos I follow.
How are you all? Wish you a nice weekend and have some beautiful shots.
There's no more Sakura left, but I can't resist the feeling to upload my Sakura and Hanami shots. Hope you like them. They were taken at Kagamiyama Koen (Park) on April 12.

Hiro San: O hisashiburi, o genki desuka? (Long time no see, how are you?)
Yuri San : Haik, genki desu (Yes, I'm fine)

Otsukaresama desuta...

And the winner is....

A show performed by one of the sake house employees.

Not only adults, children also took part performing a drama of sake making.

Sake brands from some region in Japan. From left top clockwise, Shikoku Kyushu region, Chugoku region ( Hiroshima area), Kinki region and Chubu region.

For your sake and green tea.

Sake barrels in front of a house.
The last post of sake houses, today I also uploaded some photos of sake festival in October 08.
I'm sorry I wasn't around for five days, have some trouble with Mozilla Firefox and Blogspot everytime I try to click links, it shut off.
Yuri San: Otsukaresama desuta (Finally, we're done)
Hiro San: Otsukaresama desuta. Ja ne (Finally. See you later)

Pure

Get the brochures for free.
Next to the Kamoizumi, another sake house with a display room. When I went there, it's open, yet closed :).
The man is carrying a basket of pure rice.

Pure water and pure rice are the two ingredients that make Saijo sake as one of the best.
Actually, Saijo's very best water is concentrated in a very narrow strip of land. That's why most of the area of sake breweries were established in a very small section of Saijo.

Right across the house I posted yesterday, our today sake house is Kamoizumi. On the top of the house is an ornament which is usually found hanging on the front.
For more information, here's the link and you can enjoy more photos by H.Orihashi whose collection is really awesome. I envy him so much...

Yuri San: Shasin o torimasuka? (You take pictures?)
Hiro San: Haik, sumi desu (Yes, it's my hobby)

No trespassing!

The door for employees to enter the house.
Ignore the empty pet bottles :). This is at the back of the house. My guess again, the door is closed permanently.
It's not open for public during normal days. There's a schedule available at the Communication Corner if you want to visit these places, and they will provide you with a guide to take the tour. But the best time to come is of course when the festivals.
This is probably the biggest sake house in town. It is situated between two streets.
Yuri San: Ookii desu ne (It's so big)
Hiro San: Yahari sake ga ippai desuyo! (Must be a lot of sake in there)

Irasshai mase...

You can buy sake in a ceramics container or in a wine-bottle-like.
Sakagura Yokocho, is the first sake house when you enter the area from the station.
Yuri San: Irasshai mase (Welcome, how can I help you?)
Hiro San: Ano, sake onegaisi masu (I'd like to buy some sake)

Doko desuka?

A traditional house in old part of Saijo not far from Saijo Station. In this area we can find many sake production houses, and it is one of must see places in the town.
This photo was taken two weeks ago, the weather was cloudy, but the lights were good for taking pictures. I was trying to take a different POV, this was the best I could find without having any unwanted background but the sky.
For pp, added warmify effect .
Hiro San: Koko wa doko desuka? (Where is this?)
Yuri San: Saijo, sake no machi desu (Saijo, the sake town)

Well Matched 2

I missed yesterday post. Not that I went back to the City Hall to take this pic :). It's already in my file. I should have post this first before.
Hope this can answer your curiousity. Vending machine is at the right one, and the other is where you throw the empty can or pet bottle away through the hole.
Yuri San: Koko gomi wa, dame yo (Don't put your garbage -can- here)
Hiro San: Ah, wasureta, gomen ne (Oh, I forgot, sorry)

A room with a view

As a leading sake town, it's easily to see chimneys like this. It is a symbol of a sake house.
This photo was taken from my window apaato.
Hiro San : Kanpai!
Yuri San : Kanpai!
* Kanpai = A toast, the Japanese equivalent for 'Cheers!' (Sometimes spelled incorrectly as kampai, due to the difficulty some people have with pronouncing the 'n' sound next to a hard consonant.) From the Anime Encyclopedia.

JiJi Biyoin

Typical beauty salon for young people in downtown Saijo.
Cut, 4200 Yen
Peni, 8400 Yen
Color, 8925 Yen
Discount for Students :).
Hiro San : Kami o kirimasu ka? (Want to have your hair cut?)
Yuri San : Ano, mijikakute kudasai ( Mmm, make it short, please)
* Biyoin = beauty salon

Sleepy Sunday

After rained all day yesterday, today's weather was totally warm made you feel so sleepy like this small restaurant. Already 1pm, it was still half opened. Another place found not far from Saijo Eki. How do you like the curtain? Care to have one? Wish your weekend was going well.
Hiro San : Kyo wa nani o shimasu ka? (What are you doing today?)
Yuri San : Arimasen, nemui desu ne... ( nothing, so sleepy...)

Hanami This Year

Finally spring comes with sakura blooming everywhere in Saijo.
I'm going to Sakura sightseeing tomorrow with friends.
What about spring in your place? Care to post more spring flowers?
Hiro San : Ashita wa Hanami desu ( We're going to see cherry blossoms tomorrow)
Yuri San : Haik, omoshiroi ne... (Yes, that will be interesting)
* Hanami = seeing sakura
Haru = Spring

Orange Rules

Dontaku, a small bar in front of Saijo Station and little Nissan as bonus.
Hiro San : Ikimashoo (let's go)
Yuri San : Doko ni ikimasu ka? (where are we going?)
* kuruma = car

Kiiro Biru, for Yellow Theme Day :)

Hey, I got yellow fever, too :).
Just came back from wandering the old part of the city several hours ago. Got caught in the rain and wind, I headed home earlier. This photo was taken one block in front of Saijo Station . Still have no idea what building it is. My guess, it's a beauty salon. I'll ask my teacher :). There are two words on the board, the top one is in Chinese character or Kanji, and the word below written in Hiragana characters is "Katsuya", which is probably the name of the building.
I'll try to include some simple daily expression for each post. It helps me to review my Japanese lessons, and I hope you can enjoy it, too.
Yuri San : Kore wa hoteru desu ka? (Is this a hotel?)
Hiro San : Ie, kore wa biyouin desu. (No, this is a beauty salon)
Care to try the short talk?
* Kiiro biru = yellow building.

Try kimono

One of photo studio located on Saijo Boulevard. Try kimono you like and be photographed by a pro photographer. Haven't tried it, tho :)). Care to wear one?
* Shashin o torimasu = to take a picture.

Another finding from recycle store...

Aren't they awesome for serving green tea? I need to find well matched cups for these pots.
They're also nice for omiyage.
Ocha o onegaisimasu...

Okii...

Another tea cup I found at the recycle store last week. This cup can contain 0,5 litre of ocha. Ocha or green tea is an everyday drink for Japanese. At least that's what I see here.
Care for a cup of green tea, people?
PS: Okii = big

Have some tea...

Went to a recycle store last week and found some beautiful tea set. Saijo, despite its small area, has lots of recycle stores. As a university town of Hiroshima University, many people come stay in and move from Saijo quite frequently.
I'm gonna keep this for omiyage.
PS: omiyage= souvenir