The Land of Cubed Watermelons

This article appeared on the Japan Times site today:

"Workers ready the season's first shipment of cubed watermelons Thursday at a farm co-op here. Demand for the cubic fruit is high despite the 13,000 yen price tag, but they're usually used only for display since they aren't considered tasty."

You wonder why they bother...?

Instant Hito's Next Show

Fiona is busy rehearsing Hoshizukiyo, a bilingual performance combining traditional Japanese kabuki and Ancient Greek theatrical traditions. The name translates roughly as "Star/Moon/Night". Mirrored tales of Japanese and Greek lovers will be woven together into a play under the stars.

The performance will be on Tanabata eve (July 7th) in Kameyama from 7pm - tickets 2000yen. The venue is the garden of the delicious Tsukinoniwa restaurant, where you can eat afterwards. There will also be a special preview on Sunday 2nd July at 3pm in a lovely park in Kuwana - this one will be only a few hundred yen.

Come one, come all - it will be beautiful.

Dog Shrine

We saw this mysterious shrine at a temple in Tsu. You often encounter this mixture of kitsch and serious/religious in Japanese shrines and temples. I suppose we could have asked somebody what on earth this was all about, but as usual it was too bewildering to try.

It's the Rainy Season