November in Japan

This past week I took two day trips out of Tokyo - one trip was to go mikan (mandarin orange) picking and the other was temple touring in Kamakura. Both days were fun and beautiful - it was so wonderful to get out of the city and see some fall foliage and realize once again that Japan is mroe than concrete and people! Click the link below to see a slideshow of some of my pictures...


http://www.slide.com/r/C9ua5G2b6j9CJushMB8IZdzgUgu_If9s?previous_view=mscd_embedded_url&view=original

Dirty Dish

One of the things I love most about Japan is the pottery. I love all of the different shapes and colors - I love playing the "what do you think they use this one for?" game. The Japanese have a knack for serving things in the most beautiful and pleasant ways. For instance, a Japanese dinner can come with anywhere between 6 - 10 bowls and plates each served as neatly as if it was for the emperor. So with the need for so many dishes there are many places where you can find them at very low prices. One of the favorite shops amongst the expats is a place that we all refer to as the "Dirty Dish." Its a place that's not close by nor easy to get to - so whenever someone decides to go, they find they usually have multiple cars traveling with them each full of eager shoppers. Dishes here are 40% off the listed price and we all walk away with one or two (or more!) bags full. I took a trip to the Dirty Dish last week with a plan of "not really needing anything" and, of course, walked away with a full bag! I took a few pictures of the "store" so you could maybe decide why you think it has been renamed... the Dirty Dish!