Making a Shrine Temple: Part 2

About a year ago, I made a blog post about a shrine across the street from my apartment that was in the process of being built. When I posted the previous post, it was about a year from the start of the project. Since then I have learned the shrine is actually a temple and monks take forever to make one.We can step through the progress, last time the builder was getting ready to install the roof. Above and below is the main building complete roof. This around the end of October 2010.As the roof finished work started really picking up inside the temple. The builders are really careful not to leave the doors open or make it easy to see inside. I think the final interior will be really nice.
This little shovel loader was taking care of business out back. Doing important stuff like moving around dirt, mid-November 2010.One thing I don't understand is why does the temple need Detroit style security bars on the windows... When this place opens, odds are the front door will be open all the time.Towards the middle of March 2011, a majority of the exterior trim was complete. Outside panels were still being protected with plastic covers.Early May 2011, the construction workers started to make the front gate, the structure in front of the main building.The frame of the main gate went up in a couple of days, I almost did not notice they were working on it.The front gate took just over two months to get from being started above to being almost finish below. This two month time period included the structure, trim, copper roof and the start of the hand washing bath just to the right of the gate.Below is early July 2011, the builders are starting to put up concert wall in the foreground, similar to the white concert wall in the background.The copper roof of the main gate is really nice, matches the drain gutters on the main building.It amazing, this project started November 2009, almost 2 years ago. You can see in the photo below, the temple fits naturally into the neighborhood and it's not even finish yet. I'm thinking construction will complete soon and I hope the monks have a big party to celebrate.

Large Cargo Freighter

This is the large cargo freighter parked in a public area at an airport in Japan. You can read about it here.Back swings open.View from the roof of the terminal.

Success

Grew an eggplant!Not bad.

Rainy Day

Not much to do when it rains... might as well go to the local arcade.Arcades in Japan are full of high-tech games like dance dance revolution and sega car racing, but I was more amused by the claw crane games. You can win almost anything!Who would of thought Tully's was a player?Me playing a game that made it clear that this was Japan only, not available for export. But you have to throw balls at things on a large screen. I made it though three rounds.Curry chips.Nabisco is offering Oreo cookies too, I lost at this one.Everything cute.You can claw Japanese pop stars:

Garden 2011

I planted a garden this year, my second garden since 2009.Like last time I got most of my seedlings from a nursery in South Aichi called VivaHome. I transported tomatoes, cucumbers, egg plants and other things home on a JR train....I planted most of the garden in early May and assume it would just take off like 2009.... Just add water and * BooM * food. This year the garden seems to be growing slow but we have had weird weather. From May through mid June it has been cold and rainy (limited sun). But then in late June to now it has been HOT and sunny, over 95 daily.The pink rose-style-flower also came back, no effort.The weather has been really crazy, there has been two or three small typhoons that have rolled through Nagoya.Another theory is that the soil is not as great as it was in 2009. I'm considering what to do with the second half of summer, I'm thinking about adding some new soil and plants. There is still time to grow stuff! By early July though, I did start getting some vegetables... Time will tell, but if all goes well, I will have to research if Japanese government offers farm subsidies.

Mall in Japan

Here is mall in Japan, almost the same as the US.Decorations hanging form the celling.Only difference, no size 12 shoe, or JPN 30...Largest size is usually 28cm.

Tsutsui Festival

This past Friday I was sitting at home, resting after work when all the sudden at 8pm I started to hear drums and flute music. And it would not stop, so I put on my shoes and walked a few blocks from my apartment to find a large out door festival with floats. It turns out the it was the start of a three day long party taking place all around my apartment. I think this happens yearly but this was the first time I happen to be home. All the noise was being made by these kids inside the floats. It seems like lots of work, but they played non-stop for about 10 hours a day.Tsutsui is my hood, a section of the ward of Higashi. Tsutsui has two floats, these old guys were running the show I think. Telling each float where to go and not sharing little beers.The floats are very tall and very old. You can see the puppets on top, they dance around and are human powered. The floats were made before the time of over head wires I'm guessing.To get under the wires, they have since been modified so that the little house on top can be lowered. But that's not good enough and someone has to push over the wires too.Saturday evening the two floats come to an intersection in the middle of tsutsui, it was like when the two gangs confronted each other in beginning of the beat-it video. Below is the start of the square-off.Then the dance. You can see the massive crowd, it went down each of the four blocks.Most of the lanterns were candled powered. When it's time to blow out the candle hanging off of the floats, you just have to smack the bottom of the lantern. Air rushing through the lamp blows out the candle.After the square-off in the center of town, both floats took off down the road and parade around for a few more hours.Here is a video from Saturday evening, enjoy!