Curious Observations

Japanese love dressing up their dogs

...then taking them for walks in custom made doggie prams.

i found this here medical cream which i can only assume holds the cure to every ailment known to man

the english language shouldnt be hindered by silly things like making sense. engrish will set your FREE!! YEAH!!

Japanese women have an unfaltering ability to wear the most ridiculous heels in any and every situation. We were hiking through the forest and saw heels on almost every female we passed. These i spied on the subway and tried to take a discrete photo ..hence terrible quality pic

chocolate for real men.
McPork. the Japanese answer to the McChicken. its the spoonful of rice within that makes it delicious.

Things that make me Happy

Brother Dearest has left me for the fair shores of home..

Sathishy at the airport, Air NZ check in

I'm kickin it in Tokyo, alone once more, and though i've made some single serve hostel friends, having been away from home and the people i love for almost 2 months.. there are a few items i'm thankful for, often times on a daily basis:

• my tool band shirt.

a gift from That Guy, an old and dear friend whom i get to see too rarely.
have taken to wearing it to bed because it means i can wear it on a nightly basis without getting weird looks regarding questionable laundry and hygiene habits.

• my wallet

not only does it (too) willingly dispense money, it contains pictures of mummy and daddy and doggy
it also contains my expired Otago Uni Student ID which oddly enough, ive come to treasure here in Japan despite the mongol picture of me on it.
.. it is also no coincidence that my community services card sits in front of my credit card.. serving as a powerful reminder of why im never allowed to use it unless im screwed.. or see a particularly pretty pair of shoes.

• a note from Celia

because it makes me smile.. all cutesy and stuck to a baby maltesers packet which has long been eaten for i love maltesers and shes awesome and thoughtful like that.. plus she praises my wingmaning skills within.

• shiny jewellery from Ebony

from that time we went shopping together in Sylvia Park during her lunch break ..which just so happens to be the day i discovered i get to be a real life doctor just like House MD... she bought me a celebratory mega tall grande Truffle Mocha which was to mark the start of a pamper priya spending spree that Paris Hilton would be proud of.

Let all the souls here rest in peace...

... for we shall not repeat the evil. [inscription on cenotaph]

A night bus saw us into Hiroshima several days ago...which was pretty much numero uno on my agenda of things to see/do in Japan. naturally the kick ass museum for which everyone said "ohmygawd Priya you simply must see it or life shant be worth living" was closed for the new years period. bollocks. i cried a river of bitter tears, ate some chocolate and got over it then wandered over to the A-dome for which words cant describe. thankfully someone tried and im going to plagiarise for it is the highest form of flattery

A-Dome

Excerpt from info tablet at A-Dome Site:
"..At 8:15am August 6th, 1945, an American B29 Bomber dropped an atomic bomb, the first atomic bomb in human history. The bomb exploded approximately 600 meters above and 160 meters to the southeast of the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall. The building was crushed and gutted by fire. Everyone in the building died immediately. It is known now that the bomb subsequently killed more than 200,000 people.
However, because the blast came from almost directly above, some of the walls of the building remained standing, leaving enough of the building and iron structure at the top to be recognisable as a dome.
After the war, the badly damaged skeletal remains of the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotional Hall came to be known as the A-Bomb Dome.
For many years, opinions about the Dome were divided. Some felt it should be preserved as a memorial to the bombing, while others, calling it a dangerously dilapidated structure that evoked painful memories, advocated its destruction.
Gradually, as the city was rebuilt and other A-Bombed buildings vanished, the desire to preserve the Dome gathered strength. in 1966, the Hiroshima City Council passed a resolution declaring that the A-Bomb Dome would be preserved in perpetuity. This led to a campaign to raise the funds required to physically preserve the dome. Donations poured in from those who wished for peace in Japan and overseas. The first preservation project was implemented in 1967. Several preservation projects have been carried out to ensure the dome will always look as it did immediately after the bombing.
In December 1996, the A-Bomb Dome was formally registered on the World Heritage List as a historic witness to the tragedy of human history's first use of a nuclear weapon and as a universal peace monument appealing for the abolition of nuclear weapons and the realisation of lasting world peace. "

the lasting world peace bit may be a touch ambitious but aim high my mother always says.

a tree exposed to the radiation from the A-bomb about one and a half kilometres away from the hypocenter. the half of the trunk on the hypocenter side was burnt to a hollow from the explosion and heat rays. the tree is (miraculously) still growing, curling around the hollow.. some say its protecting the burn.

aww lookie.. St Paddys School from Kaiapoi, mighty NZ..
made an entire shrine of cranes which is now lovingly housed at hiroshima

Hope everyones new year went swimmingly. I know mine did.