U S Visit -- We're on a Break!

Below is our last posting until August. (This is your chance to get caught up with our blog . . .) We're leaving Japan on Monday 6/26 for a visit to the U S for a month. We're really looking forward to some grandchildren time and of course, visiting with friends and other family. Watch for our "July 2006 U S Adventures" to be posted after our return to Japan.

Margie & Stan

Yanai - Goldfish Lantern Craft and Tour of Historic District

"Double Bridges" in Iwakuni. We are on a tour today bound for Yanai, where we're going to make paper goldfish lanterns, a symbol of Yanai. Although we usually drive along the sea, today we're driving through the mountains -- it's about an hour's drive.


Margie on the bus. This is a very comfortable small bus with GREAT air conditioning. Summer has finally arrived!

Entering the "White Wall" (historic district) of Yanai.

Map of Yanai historic district.

Unusual shell planter

Typical building with large front garden in Yanai historic district. All these plants are in pots.

Several Japanese photographers were taking closeup pictures of these cactus flowers. I had to squeeze in from the side to get this!

Beautiful handmade sign outside this "Men's Fashions" shop.

Old man walking down a narrow street with red umbrella.

Margie enjoying more flowers.

American tourists watching the old man with the red umbrella.

You should have seen the Japanese cameras clicking when these darling 12-year old twins borrowed the red umbrella!

Inside the craft center, we're all ready to start making our goldfish lanterns.

Picture of Japanese visitors taking a picture of the American goldfish "artists." These are not professional photographers, but many Japanese amateur photographers carry all this equipment when they're visiting tourist spots.

Fresh flower arrangement inside the craft building.

OK -- just follow these simple steps . . .

While the paint dries, I'm taking pictures of some other artwork inside this craft building. These projects are made from dried rice sheaths. The top one is a crane and the bottom one is a turtle.

This is our sensei (teacher) for our goldfish craft project. She was very patient with us.

"Exploded" goldfish parts. This very strong paper really absorbed the paint quickly, so we had to be very careful. In the small crockpot, there is hot parafin wax. We used this to paint on the designs and it also stopped the paint from bleeding into the white part.

Other crafts done here include weaving and dying fabric. This closeup shows the type of crushed flower petals that were used to dye these fabrics. The color in the center was dyed with the cherished sakura (cherry blossoms).


Various fabric dyed with natural flower petal colors.

Photos showing fabric being dyed.

Japanese quilt featuring yakata (summer kimono). I believe this fabric was woven here.

A colorful piece of cloth hanging on this loom.

One of the weaving looms.

The area where we're making our goldfish and the weaving looms. We're on a break.

Our eyeless, finless & tailless goldfish are drying outside, so I took a potty break.















This is a traditional Japanese potty, but fortunately for my knees, there was a "western" one in the other stall.





Doormat inside the craft center. Since the goldfish is the "logo" of Yanai, you see them everywhere!

The paint's still drying, so I walked outside. This is the building where local crafts are made & today we're making goldfish.

Dusty miller (I think) outside the craft building where we're making our goldfish lanterns. 

A traditional Japanese building in the historical district of Yanai. This one is someone's home. 

A small, but colorful flower garden. 

Ingrid & flowers 

Twins posing in front of goldfish-covered curtains. Aren't they adorable? They told me they LOVE being twins. 

The official Yanai manhole cover. 

Now, we're back to work. Ingrid & Betsy are showing off their works-in-progress. We're adding eyes.

Artists at work.  

Hmm -- we should have read the directions first. 

Ta-da!