Shampoo Demon Sword

There's a women's hair stylist near my apartment, named Shampoo. I walk by the place often enough that the owner recognizes me, even if we've never really talked before. One evening, I was coming home from the English school at about the time he was cleaning up the shop and preparing to close for the night. As I got close to the place, I noticed the Kimetsu no Yaiba (Demon Sword) paper dolls in the window (usually, the security gate is down when I go by, so I rarely get to see the window). I was about to take out my camera for a photo when the owner stepped out the front door, making it kind of awkward for me to take the shots without at least starting up a conversation.



So, we talked about the paper dolls, and he said that his "mago" likes making so many of them that there's no space for keeping them at home, and he's been using the salon as overflow storage. Now, "mago" translates as "grandchild," but there's no indicator as to whether the speaker is talking about a "granddaughter" or "grandson." Either way, the dolls look much better in real life than in the photos, because of the reflections from the glass. Kid's got talent.

KYT Tram

I really don't know how many trams (streetcars) there are in Kagoshima. Maybe 20 active. There's only one main line, but it splits in the middle, with an eastern and a western track. Essentially, all of the streetcars have to stop at the end of the line at Kagoshima station (which, actually, is under reconstruction now, so they stop at a makeshift end platform near the aquarium). The two sets of streetcars, called Tamiyama and Korimoto, then run along the one set of tracks through Tenmonkan to the Takamibaba intersection. The Korimoto streetcars continue along Streetcar Street to the main Kagoshima station at Amu Plaza, then along kind of a rectangle shaped line to the Korimoto street intersection (hence the name, Korimoto, for these cars). The Tamiyama streetcars make a left at Takamibaba, then run straight through the Korimoto intersection down another 10 miles or so to the Taniyama main station (hence the name, Taniyama, for these cars). The station house, where all of the cars go to sleep for the night (usually around 10 PM) is on the Korimoto line, past Amu Plaza, next to the big prefectural hospital (which is where I had my eye surgery in October last year). Anyway, the cars all have wrap around art that works as advertising for whatever company pays for it, from shochu distilleries to ramen manufacturers. One morning, I ended up getting on the car sponsored by KYT TV.



After a little while, I noticed their "stupid bird" mascot toys hanging from the bars at the ceiling. Most of the other passengers just ignored them.



Turns out there's a whole "stupid" family on this train.

Fleet Girl Sour

The Fleet Girls have teamed up with Setouchi (a district in Japan known for its green lemons) to produce Setouchi Lemon Sour. The can advertises 5% real fruit juice and 5% alcohol. 189 yen before tax ($1.75 USD). A bit expensive for what I normally pay for canned drinks (usually 99 to 118 yen for a 9% chuu-hai).



But, I've never seen manga art on canned cocktails before, and I figured I might as well try one for the blog. It's a kind of sour lemon hard cider. You'd never see something like this in the U.S., because "cartoon art appeals to children."

Capsule Ball Grenade Launcher Toy

I was at Amu Plaza, looking at the Capsule Ball dispenser machines (gacha-pon in Japanese), and I saw this one machine that had little spring-loaded derringers. Actually, 4 derringer models, 2 assault rifles and 2 grenade launcher models. I was hoping for one of the derringers, because they looked cool. Instead I got this launcher.



The loader cylinders hold 5 pins (the grenades), and fit inside the barrel housing. The bolt action really works and cocks the spring. There's a little plunger that hits into the cylinder, popping out all 5 pins at one time. The launcher is about 3" long, and the pins can fly about 2' before they bounce off the floor and you never find them again. Very nicely detailed, and amazingly well-made for 200 yen ($1.80 USD).

Demon Sword Art on Men's Clothing Store Sign

Da ze.

Ibusuki Mirai Ouen Fair

Last weekend, the space in front of Lotteria, in Tenmonkan, hosted some kind of promo event for the city of Ibusuki, down at the south end of Kyushu island. The trains between Ibusuki and Kagoshima don't run very often, and the last one back to Kagoshima leaves at about 2 PM (if I remember right). I only went down there once, a few years ago, to climb Kaimon mountain for New Year's day. I had to take the 5 AM train, and I got to the mountain at 7 AM, just as the sun was coming up. Anyway, the event this time translates to "Rooting for Ibusuki's Future, Fair". However, the banners were for an onsen (hot spa) there.



I got to the event space at 3:30 PM on Saturday, and it was dead. No idea what they had on the tables, but it doesn't look like much. I didn't go back on Sunday.



Not looking like much of a future, at this point...

Hina Matsuri Fish Paste

There's a shop near Tenmonkan that sells processed fish paste snacks and products (pictured above). They have a display window at the front of the store that they use some times for seasonal advertising. This one is for Hina Matsuri (Girl's Day), March 3rd.