Lyrokain's Minor Image of Reasoning

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By Lyrokain in Japan — Jan 22, 2024

Kyoto Images

Some commented images form my vaccation in Kyoto, Japan.

It says on the buckets it should be used in case of fire, which makes sense, as the writing in the red box behind them is the same. That is a bit disappointing, as I initially thought it was a delivery of miso paste for the restaurant next to the buckets.

No written story today. I will just post a few images and maybe comment some of them.

This is also about fire. As I understood this tag confirms that the room was inspected by the local fire prevention office. The hopefully non-combustible tag is affixed with a rivet and could spin freely around it, if it wasn't so close to the walls.

One of the many tiny shrines scattered around Kyoto (and elsewhere in Japan).

This strange device is an umbrella stand. You are supposed not to take your umbrella into the castle in order to keep out the water. Each umbrella can be locked individually. As nobody in Japan steals anything, you may wonder why you need to lock your umbrella. Quite simple: There is really ubiquitous model. You would not be able to identify your umbrella if you didn't have the fitting key.

Since the openings of the bells rest on stone pedestals they cannot ring. No idea why they are kept this way.

Despite the sunny appeal it is winter and during that season some trees are put on funny straw hats to protect them from the cold.

Farm idyll and Japanese architecture.

Japanese castle gates are often really pretty,

Home-made new year's arrangement with bamboo origami at the Japan Railway office at Kyoto station.

Pasta can be quite sticky in Japan. Even if you hang the plates to the wall the food will stay right on them. And of course it's the motion of the ocean, baby.

Every sign has it's own story. The glossy brown skewers below the untouchable scallops are eel.

You can read "OK" often on signs in Japan. I haven't quite figured out what it really is supposed to mean. Often you find "Take out OK", which obviously means you can buy food to go. But "please OK"?

Multiple preparations of Daikon, a mild kind of radish which is very common in Japan. Even the raw thing is edible without the need to make it sweat with loads of salt first. You often get a small pile of shredded Daikon served with your Tempura.

At first I thought it was soap, but since people were eating it, I had to discard this hypothesis and go with the assumption it is some sort of Matcha candy.

More food pr0n at the Nishiki market in Kyoto.

This kind of fountain is part of a temple. Sometimes you may also find a wooden ladle to rinse your hands before praying. The cylinders in the background are sake barrels, I think. They are also very common around temples, but I don't know why this is and who drinks it in the end.

At some temples you can buy little objects that are supposed to improve your destiny. Health, financial success, marriage and the like. I don't know if these signs are a variety of them. They are not on display for sale here. They are already in use, and will serve their purpose well I hope.

These fishes are a popular treat in Japan. It is basically a waffle, filled with a sweet paste of mashed adzuki beans. The paste is called Anko and if it is inside of a cake fish's belly it is called Taiyaki. Often you can also choose different fillings. Vanilla custard for example.