Kyoto is the ancient capital of Japan and if you ever visit Japan its a must see. One day I visited a museum that focused on the making of kimonos. The museum was free and the museum even had a couple seamstresses there demonstrating how kimonos are made.
The museum also had a couple of “Maiko” wearing kimonos and in full make-up. “Maiko” are apprentice Geisha and in Kyoto its not uncommon to see them around touristy areas. They are often very accommodating and if you ask them politely they will usually allow you to take a picture with them. But enough of that boring stuff….
While there I saw this “Mack Daddy” or “Daddy Mack” if you will macking it up with the “Maiko” there. Sure he must have been 100 years old, but guess who’s in the middle of a Maiko sandwich! Not only that, but the dude has it going on with the clothes he’s wearing. I’m sure the ladies were impressed with his t-shirt! He’s more stylish than 99% of teenagers and that my friends is a scientific fact!
Here I am with him hoping that some of his coolness will somehow rub off on me!
So this past August I was wondering the streets of Kyoto, Japan when I noticed that there were a number of signs with the word “snob.” I was kind of wondering if there were a bunch of arrogant, good for nothing rich people around but after some investigation I realized that the Japanese just like listing “snob ” to the names of hair salons.
Japan has a lot of funny English but this one is kind of bizarre. Anywho, that’s how they do it in Japan!
Every time I go to Japan I find that I have no trouble going to sleep. Maybe it’s the long journey, jet lag, flying from east to west, the stress of being in a new place, who really knows??? What I do know is that when I go I’m usually exhausted when bedtime comes. However, it’s not just that cause I also find that I sleep a little differently, and not only that I’ve noticed that the Japanese sleep different and it seems to have rubbed off on me… Check out these pics…
Notice how I have my hands joined together on top of my chest. It looks like I’m at my own funeral. I don’t think I do this when I’m in Canada…
This baby has decided to go a different route by extending his arms outwards. Again, it almost looks like we’re dead!
Here’s another baby. It’s almost like they got together before bedtime and planned this!
Back to the “I was killed on the spot” pose…
Of course if you are an adult then there is no better place to rest than at the local electronics store. I mean where else can you sleep under the glare of about a 1000 fluorescent lights and the noise of thousands of different electronic appliances? (Notice how all the shoes have been removed. Now that’s Japan!)
Finally, I’ve saved the best for last and perhaps this is a pose that I can copy when I go to sleep in Canada. You have to admit that she looks pretty relaxed! And yes… she is actually sleeping and not just making a quick adjustment.
I’ve been to many bars, pubs, restaurants, and Izakaya’s(traditional Japanese pubs) in Japan but I’ve never been to one quite like this. Aptly named, Girls Ghetto, this place was a real hole in the wall. It seriously was a dirty place, probably because it was in an old, poorly maintained building beside the beach. The bar used plastic picnic chairs and tables and the bathroom… well you don’t even want to go there.. Seriously, you really don’t. Anyway Girl’s Ghetto is only open during the summer for two months in Shimoda, Shizuoka when everyone in Japan flocks to the beach.
The good part of Girls Ghetto was that it was staffed by 5 girls, who I think are all friends just working there for the summer. I’m pretty sure the bar is owned by some guy but he was never there. If he was there the place wouldn’t be living up to its name, and we can’t have that now can we???
The Girls were all really nice and as you can guess from the following photo, a little crazy.
Shimoda is a nice place but its really only busy for about a month a year. I think a lot of young people from Tokyo decide to move to Shimoda for the summer because who doesn’t want to work on the beach during the summer? Having said that, its tough work being in the sun all day renting out beach equipment and serving drinks to tourists. As for these girls, they start work at about 6:30 pm and are there till sunrise. I went back to the bar the next day and all of the girls looked super tired. I wonder if they will come back next year.
Today is my birthday, but when I was in Japan my friends took me to a “family restaurant” and we celebrated there. My meal wasn’t free but I did get a free ice cream dessert as you can see below. Pretty nice!
The manager and the waitress also sang “Happy Birthday” to me too! Check out the waitress’s tambourine! Yaaaaayyyy!!!
This last photo is of my friend’s kid. I don’t know where he got the idea to stick Kleenex up his nose and in his ears, but that’s the kind of innovative thinking that I like!
My name is Michael McKinlay and I live in Calgary, Alberta Canada. Although I was born here, I have lived in a few other places in Western Canada such as, Saskatoon, Regina, Medicine Hat, and Edmonton. I also spent time in Hong Kong and Japan. [More]
And yes… she is actually sleeping and not just making a quick adjustment. 
My name is Michael McKinlay and I live in Calgary, Alberta Canada. Although I was born here, I have lived in a few other places in Western Canada such as, Saskatoon, Regina, Medicine Hat, and Edmonton. I also spent time in Hong Kong and Japan. [
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