Update

I've kind of run into a problem. I've published everything I've had in the backlog for the blog, and now I seem to have lost my pocket camera. I'm backtracking to all of the places I went on the day I last remember having it, but no luck so far. It may have fallen off my belt loop again, so I'm going to stop at a nearby koban (police box) in Tenmonkan to see if anyone turned it in. But I don't have my hopes up about that. Worst case, I may have to wait a while before I can buy a new replacement. In the meantime, this blog may have to go into a short hiatus. Sorry about that, Chief.

Odiina Hair Salon Chalk

Chalk art advertising hair styling for high school boys.

Trombone Spring 2022 Chalk Art

Don't worry, Bee happy.



As happy as a mole in a hole.

Spring Garden Fair

Every year, the garden supplies shops take over Lion's Park near Kotsuki river for 4-5 weeks.



As of March 13th, they were just starting to set up the tent frames.

Moth

Found this little guy on the wall near the ceiling at the entrance of a grocery store. No one else seemed to have noticed him while I was there. I hope he got out ok.

Update

Man, what a nightmare. I have Windows 10 on my laptop, and a couple days ago Norton came up and said that it couldn't finish a virus definitions update, and that I'd have to restart the computer. I do this, and lose about 30 minutes of productivity because of the shutdown-start-up times involved. A little later, I get the same message and I have to restart again. But this time, when Windows restarts, I discover that my Firefox browser settings have been reset to the defaults, that I've been logged out of every page I've been using online, and that my Google account thinks that I'm running a brand new copy of Windows.

I've spent the last two days trying to correct each screw-up as I encounter it, and the latest one was on Blogger, where the Google account settings made it look like I don't have a blog. I didn't have to time fix this situation this morning before going to work, so it's had to wait until now. Sigh.

Anyway, I'm also kind of running out of things to post on this blog again, so the next "stuff in Japan" entry will have to wait until tomorrow my time.

Zone and Uma Musume

I'd written about a week ago of finding a whole bunch of canned cocktails and coffees with anime themes at Familymart, but not being able to track down the one energy drink series with unknown characters on it. Well, I finally found those at 7-11, and they're also for Uma Musume. I don't drink stuff like Red Bull, so I'm not going to get these Zone cans, either.

"She's got a ticket to ride, but she don't care."

Lesser Red Panda

One thing I've been noticing lately is how rare it is to find lost toys on the ground. I expect that most school kids still play with gatchapon (capsule ball dispensers), and UFO Catchers (crane arm machines), but I used to find lost keychains and plushies every few weeks. In the last year, there's been almost nothing.



With one exception.
Lesser panda says "hi."

Apartment Rot

There's this apartment building near my apartment that went up about 5-6 years ago. I don't get out in this direction very often, so when I walked by last week, I was really struck by how crappy it already looks.



It's not just that all the metal is rusting and the paint is peeling.



It's like the building owners just don't care, and aren't even trying to whitewash things. I expect that rent here is close to $2,000 a month, too.



Got to wonder just how cracked the cement is inside the building itself.

Ciena Spring Chalk - Hina Dolls

Chalk art from Ciena, for Hina Matsuri (March 3rd).



And, a ladybug and her morning Joe.

White Day Bromide Prints

Not really sure what this manga is. The ad is for bromides (glossy photos) from Family Mart, for White Day (the day men give return presents to their girlfriends in exchange for the chocolates they got on Valentine's Day), March 14. Also not sure how many women would want a print of these guys, when it'd cost more money for you to buy her a platinum tennis bracelet...

Uma Musume Banner

I reviewed the Uma Musume (Horse Girl) latte a few days ago. Today, I saw the banner for the tie-in campaign at Family Mart.

"Ride girl, ride."

Shiro Chalk Art for Spring

The good chalk artist is back. But, they still can't spell "perm."

Shiatsu Parlor Marker Art

New marker art, this time with Pikachu...

A Robot in the Garden, The Musical

Never heard of the book before. But, now the musical version is in town. "Not kid-friendly."

Sound Truck

Had this roving speaker truck pull up at the traffic light near me one night. Mercifully, the sound was turned off and I didn't have to listen to the boy idol group Miracle Candy. Their promo photo at their agency makes them look 14 years old.



Can't be sure, but maybe they'll be performing with United Dears and Ribito. None of whom I have any interest in.

Where'd It Go

This is kind of a Small Adventure. There's an empty lot across the street from the prefectural hospital, and in front of a discount department store and drugstore combo. For a long time, the lot was just empty, then a couple years ago the fence went up around it and it looked like it was being used as a staging area for a construction company. Some time around January, work started on a big steel structure that resembled a cross-over walking bridge, or possibly a low train trestle. It stood about 15 feet high and ran across the entire length of the far side of the fence. The work was very noisy, with a lot of riveting and pounding all the time. I was at the hospital 10 days ago, and a couple workers were still pounding on the structure. 1 week later, all traces of it were gone. Either someone decided to dismantle the entire thing overnight for some reason, or it was mounted on a VERY LONG flatbed and trucked out of the lot somehow...

Bicycle Banner

Ad banner in front of the bike shop near me. They seem to have a fairly consistent arrangement of manga-style banners all year-round.

Red Mask Detective Game

The shopkeeper associations in Tenmonkan have a smartphone app that lets you find specific stores, and learn more about the history of the area (400 years ago, this was an open field used for making observations for drawing up star charts). On Feb. 26th and 27th, the app supported an AR (augmented reality) puzzle game. The game packet included a red mask (double-mask so that the game support staff can tell who is playing and who isn't), and a workbook.



Then, the idea was to walk around the shopping district, looking for these participation signs.



Aiming your phone at the image with the gems would cause a puzzle to pop up on your screen. Solve the puzzle and write the answer in the workbook.



The AR portion of the app didn't support my tablet so I got regulated to the manual support desk (literally). The puzzles were printed out on stiff plastic, with the answers written on clear overlays (example in upper left corner of photo above). One of the workers helped me with the harder kanji, but still left me alone enough that I could find the solutions on my own. Clearing the game entered you into a lottery for the prizes, most of which were packets of pocket tissue, or 30 cent bags of candy. I got a tissue.

Priest Ringer

Haven't seen these priests (don't know if they're Shinto or Buddhist; probably Buddhist) standing out on the street corners for a long time. Must mean an end to Covid, I guess, if they're out begging again. No idea how successful they are - most of the locals just ignore them.

Mickey-D's Frappe

McDonald's announcing their new Oreo cookie chocolate-banana frappe. I've had these things before. Mainly just crushed ice with a flavored syrup and unflavored whip cream. Tastes very watery. Around $4 USD for an American small.



Yeah, what can you expect, with only 8 years of mandatory English in schools?
"Strating now."

Megido 72 and Joysound

Megido 72 smartphone game tie-in with Joysound karaoke box. Character-themed non-alcoholic drinks, and one free coaster with purchase.

Uma Musume Cafe Latte

This is the last manga, anime, video game-themed drink for right now. Uma Musume tie-in with Family Mart. A supposedly "original" cafe latte, that tastes almost 100% like straight creamer. The name "Vodka" on the front is misleading - that's the name of the character, named after a famous Japanese racing horse, and has nothing to do with the alcohol.