Shige-chan Land / Abashiri, Hokkaido

I went to there a few years ago. That is real artistic odds place! Wooden aliens ( the Nano-Nano tribe), peanuts creatures, gourd people etc. You can find exciting exhibition in this place. Shigenari Ohnishi (Shigechan) is now making his own secret base in the middle of Hokkaido. He was the art director in Tokyo, and moved to Hokkaido to expand his creative life. It occurred him to create the wooden alien when he found a throned coconut at the chinatown of Yokohama. Right now, there is large army of wooden aliens in Abashiri.

Shige-chan also use a driftwoods and roods for his work. I prefer a huge driftwood work, the drunken Mexican man because of his funny shape. A part of his works have price tags, so you can buy one if you have enough money because the price is so high. But these are art works and all is one of a kind, so the price is reasonable, I think. If you do not have much money, don't regret it because there is a souvenir shop in the land. I bought a bandana on which the little gourd people printed.

I like his characters and also his way of life. Please visit this secret land when you come to the eastern part of Hokkaido.

Place: 256 Aza-Aioi Tsubetsu-cho Abashiri-gun Hokkaido

Official Page (English!)

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Nika no Page (Japanese only)

A farm of Ezo Red Foxes / Rubeshibe Hokkaido

I want to introduce one place to go in Hokkaido. Last summer I went there. That is "Farm of Ezo red foxes" in near Kitami-city. There are so many wild red foxes in Hokkaido, but breeding farms are few. Over half of wild red foxes in Hokkaido have a parasitic worm echinococcous, so you don't touch them and don't drink a spring water in where they live. But this is a farm of foxes and the worm should be stamped out from the body of fox, I hoped. I was looking for the instruction panel or sign like this,  " Foxes in the farm are free from the worm, don't mind to touch them", but I couldn't. I was so disappointed and was so careful not to touch anything in the huge cage.

Foxes are cute and look like healthy. So I could enjoy to take pictures of them. But when you go there, be careful to touch them.

Place: Hanaoka-52-1, Rubeshibe-cho, Hokkaido

Farm HP (Japanese only)

Where is Rubeshibe?

What is Hokkaido fox?

Battery of RX-7

In this winter vacation I prepared the Computer Based Testing (CBT) that was perforrmed at 6th Jan. then I could not drive my car. Almost one month I left my RX-7 as it was. A few days ago when I switched on the ignition of the car, there was no response! The battery went almost flat. I just changed a new battery last year. So this dead battery is now recharging at Mazda garage near my home. I hope a revival of the battery. Anyway cold and snowy environment is not good for a battery.

31 Jan. 2015 OSCE

Last year on this day, I broke my leg by falling down on the ice road. That was terrible experience because it was the first time for me to go through an real operation. After operation I have forced to use crunches for a month. So in this winter season I really pay attention to walk on the snowy road.


Today there was the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) in Japan. This exam. is for all medical students in Japan to attend the clinical training at a hospital. I could not finish a medical interview and an auscultation of heart within my time limit. So I am afraid of the result of the exam.

Resume my blog

Today, I resume this blog as my diary. So I will try to write my everyday life. Of course I want to introduce you so many curious places of Japan like before, but now I am in a medical school as my second career. Then there is no enough time to visit these places, no enough money to go there. So I will write my everyday life and the report of curious places that I have ever been to. The report will be uploaded weekly or  monthly. If you have a request for a place to report, please send e-mail to me. Also give me e-mail when you want to know about the life of Japanese medical student in middle age! 

email: nikari3333@gmail.com

Maishima Incineration Plant Osaka City

" Is this a waste service facility?" I was very surprising at the outward appearance of the building when I reached to Maishima Island in Osaka city near Universal Studio Japan. I could not understand that it was just garbage incinerator. A chimney with tear shape roof like the Klemlin and so many abstract arts on the wall. 

You can get an inside tour of this facility with reservation. I have attended this real cool activity for 7 years ago. As same as exterior, the interior of the incinerators was very impressive. That was designed by Austrian designer Mr. Hundertwasser and built by Osaka city. So this means that it was built by citizen's tax and the expense was 80 billion yen for one facility. But the tour fee is free!

Because Mr. Hundertwasser thought this facility as the nature forest, there is no same format in the building. The every passage has the different curve and the size of all windows is not same each other. I think that this building is very symbolical meaning of Osaka trait because of its chaos. They like it and cultivate it. When you visit downtown of Osaka, especially in Minami area, you can feel it precisely. 

Anyway, when you visit Osaka, this is the "must to go" to place. I strongly recommend.

sakakibara Dai- Kannon Temple (Mie Pref.)

It's like a fantasy theme park for elder. You can see a tall Goddess of mercy in gold. There is an orchestra of little green frogs at the entrance of the temple. When you go inside of it, you could feel some strange atmosphere compered with an ordinary, old style temple, like in Kyoto. Yes, this temple is NOT at all. They don't have supporters, usually a supporter of its temple have a tombstone of his ancestors, so there is no real tombstone in the temple. 

    

Then you can enjoy your touring inside of the temple if you are not the Buddhist. But, at first you should pay the entrance fee, 800 yen (there is discount coupon of their web site). The temple calls it "dedication", but I think it may be "entrance fee" for attraction. After the entrance gate, you can see tiny statures of Daikoku and Ebisu who are member of Japanese Gods. For the statues were made by pure gold, you can touch them. Surprisingly, one touch makes improvement your fortune, especially for a luck of money! Never miss to touch them.

Next, cats orchestra will be waiting for you with a huge pair of clogs to welcome to throw coins into an offertory box. Of course this monetary offering improves your money luck too. Then you must go inside a pilgrim room for Sikoku-Singon sect Buddhists. A pious Buddhist should go on a pilgrim to visit 88 temples all around Shikoku island by his foot. But in this room there are 88 boxes which contain sand from each temple, so you can pilgrim all temples about ten minutes or so. 

OK, after your religious austerities, go out to a courtyard. Thirty-three meter of golden Kannnon is looking down at you from center of the garden. In this courtyard you can find so many funny statures around the Kannnon. Teng, Kappa, Hakutaku and singing kannon with her microphone of Karaoke set! I could not tell all attraction in the temple. So try to  search yourself.

If you want to have some souvenir of this place, I reccomend you to get " Goshuin" of this temple. This is like a hand made stamp written by Japanese brush. This is real cool. Originally we must dedicate our own hand-copying of sutras, then the temple gives us the Goshuin as proof of the prayer. But now it is a mere certificate of visiting. So you can purchase it for 300yen without sutras. Please try it.

 

sakakibara hot spa

http://www.sawasdee-japan.com/sightseeing-spot/chubu-region/mie.html#Sakakibara%20Spa

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