Keeping the evil spirits away.

My house is clean, clean, clean! Now we just have to rid it of evil spirits. I'm told I can do this with a Shimekazari. Oosouji is the huge once a year deeeep cleaning of your house, car, etc... I guess it has to be done before the new year begins.

The back room of the farmer's market I so love was filled with an array of these Shimekazari ranging in price from 200-yen for a tiny one in the photo below all the way up to a 5,000-yen more ornate one.

Most of the customers were buying the size above. They are all around 550-yen.

There were also many people purchasing Kadomatsu. These small, pre-made versions were all around 1,800-yen.

This was the scene outside where they were selling the various parts of the Kadomatsu as well as a couple of huge Kadomatsu at the entrance.

Kinkai off the main road.

This looks like New England to me... at least the New England I saw at the start of the Newhart Show. That church-like building is actually a group home in Kinkai. The traffic was at a dead stop on the main road south to Nagasaki, so we took a drive in country.

This was a little beach area with a pretty big parking lot. The fall foliage was beautiful.

A couple of starfish on the beach.

Kit Kat Coffee Mug

A pentagon shaped coffee mug, Nescafe and a plain Kit Kat. I wish the package would have included a flavored Kit Kat, but beggars can't be choosers.

Christmas at Huis ten Bosch

I wouldn't want to pay the electric bill at Huis ten Bosch this month! Seven million lights are on through the end of February.

People were posing with that lighted heart in the midst of this LED carousel.

We didn't even attempt to go up the clock tower that day. It was the Emperor's birthday, so the park was crowded.

The photo above and the one below were taken at the Huis ten Bosch Palace. There is a separate charge to get in. I personally thought that the Light Art Garden in the main part of the park was a better light show, but the Palace light show includes a concert. The lights at the palace are timed with songs by ABBA and Billy Joel amongst others.

Before you buy into Canon's latest "low light" claim for their Powershot camera, take a look at these photos taken in the low light setting. They looked fine in the view finder, but they look horrible once I downloaded them.

The light display this year was different enough to bring us in again, so if you went last year, you may want to return.

It's Christmas in Japan!!!

This video seemed more appropriate when we lived near Tokyo, but it's still very cute

Forget microwaves... we're cooking geothermally!

Hot springs have been used to cook food for thousands of years. So, why not take a trip back in time and head to the Obama Onsen Resort with a dozen eggs, veggies and some kind of meat for lunch?

Get a basket, check the time chart listed above the steam ovens and wait.

Out comes a delicious meal prepared by nature. Eggs take 8 to 10 minutes, potatoes 20 to 30. Octopus only takes 7 minutes... in case you were wondering.

Cooking chart above the steam ovens.

Japan's longest foot bath. For people and dogs!

This foot onsen is 105 meters of pure happiness. There are places to sit and just soak, but there are also reflexology bumps in the walking part of the onsen. You can massage your feet out of the water too. Your choice.

The Obama Onsen is a free foot bath snuggled into the Unzen area of the Nagasaki Prefecture. You can soak your feet while either gazing upon the ocean or the mountains.

It's free to soak your feet. They're open from 10:00 to 18:00 until April when they are open until 19:00.

The pet foot bath is at the end. On the other end is a place where you can steam your lunch.

The pet foot bath.