Chocolate Candy

Caterpillar

Prune

Nanakamado (Mountain Ash)

Orang-utang

Flowers

Conger Roll

Wooden Frog

Saddle Maker

When I went to Takigawa City in Hokkaido, the Northernmost large island of Japan, I visited a saddle maker which also makes bags, purse, and other leather products. There I found this emblem hanging on the wall.

Carp Streamer

Gourd

A small gourd was sitting on top of the television in the room where I stayed. I liked the shape and colors of yellow and dark green.

- MT

Roof Tile

This is a tile used on the roof of Kaichi Primary School in Matsumoto City, Nagano. Width and hight of it exceed one meter. I saw it when I visited the old wooden school in mid-July and was impressed with its size and complex design. Nowadays, no primary school has luxury of being decorated with such elaborate roof tiles. It may show the intense zeal for education in earlier days.

Hotel Buena Vista

This is the hotel in which my wife and I stayed on business in mid-July. It was a clear day and we took a walk around a shopping center near the hotel in the late afternoon. The sky was blue and the greens of trees around the hotel were conspicuous. I took a picture or two of the hotel and drew this efuto from them. While drawing, I changed the color combination rather drastically.

Water Bottle

Sometimes the summer heat in Japan gets almost unbearable with its high humidity. Many people therefore carry water bottles during the summer to ease their thirst that comes from perspiring so much. Since the Japanese archipelagoes are mostly mountainous and covered with forest, Japan produces good-quality water. Tap water in most areas is good for drinking. But, for some reason, trendy people here prefer imported water, such as this one from France, despite the global water shortage. At my house in Tokyo we put purified tap water in used plastic bottles to help cut CO2 emissions.

Old Town Hall

Echizen City in Fukui prefecture was formed recently by joining a few towns around Takefu. It may sound as if the area is growing. But, according to what I observed of the area in the evening in early July, it seemed to be declining both in economy and population. I got this impression especially when I saw this old town hall of Takefu. They had an art exhibition in the building but I saw no one entering or exiting. The shopping arcade around the hall was dark and most shops were closed even thought it was Saturday evening. The hall itself, however, was shining in the sun.

Watermelon

My wife and I went to Echizen City, Fukui, on July 6. At a supermarket I suggested to my wife that we buy this watermelon because of its colors. The combination of the yellow rind and red inside is rare among Japanese watermelons. However, it was rather expensive compared to the other ordinary types around it. As we were discussing prices, a clerk came to us and changed the price tag to make it more affordable. We thanked her and decided to buy it .

Steam Locomotive (2)

This efuto was created from a photo I took from a hotel room at the end of June. It is the same locomotive I drew previously. The smoke engulfed almost the entire train and I could not help imagining the misery of passengers if the train windows were open upon entering the tunnel ahead.

Steam locomotive

A steam locomotive gives us a sense of power and industriousness. It also reminds us of the day when human efforts to conqure nature were never questioned but received with enthusiasm. I saw this locomotive when I went to Kitami City in Hokkaido at the end of June. It was a special occasion on which this old machine was revived to carry fans and tourists marking the beginning of Summer.

Kamaboko (steamed fish paste)

Toyama Bay produces an abundance of marine products--fish, squid, shellfish, sea urchin, and seaweed. Despite being a city boy, I have acquired the taste for them largely because my grandmother, born and raised in Toyama prefecture, shared her favorites with her grandchildren, including me. Kurozukuri, chopped squid marinated in its ink, was one of her favorites. It is salty but tasty. I used to love it, but nowadays, I try to avoid salty food. I was therefore glad to see my wife buying kamaboko, which does not contain salt, as a souvenir at Toyama airport.

Piggy Censer

On June 16, I stayed at the official residence of Seicho-No-Ie Head Temple in Nagasaki prefecture. On the tatami mat of the corridor of the residence I found this pig-shaped mosquito-coil hanger. It looked familiar and made me feel a little nostalgic. I briefly recalled my boyhood when I used a similar-shaped hanger while studying or reading. Nowadays, we rarely see this type of hanger. I liked the color combination, too.