Hanshin Tigers, Rice Harvesting, Minoh Falls!!!

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Hey hey all! Don't worry this isn't a picture only blog... well, It is just photos, but I captioned them enough as to make this qualify as a blog entry. Enjoy! Please feel free to let me know what you'd like to see more of or any suggestions you have for me!
- Zach

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Photos

Minami Osaka
The Glico man is home to the trendy, out of control busy section of South Osaka.

Dontombori Bashi
Pop culture takes form in Minami Osaka and this is the area where it all goes down.

Billiards in Shinsaibashi
For only 600 yen you too can play billiards...for one hour! Levi pretty much dominated me..

Yuko & I
We've only recently met, but i've had many good times with her already.

Flags
Here we have the Japanese Flag, Hanshin Tiger's Flag, and the Dragon's Flag. The name of the ball park is Koshien which is located in Hyogo prefecture.

Satoshi, Ryoji, Me
Pregaming outside of the ballpark with all of our Hanshin gear. Satoshi actually works at the ballpark.

Haruna is also a fan!
It's illegal to go to a Hanshin Tigers ballgame without being fully clothed, armed with all kinds of noise makers and ballons.

Koshien Stadium
In all of its glory! Home to the best fans in the entire world!

Me, Ryoji, Kunio and company
To Kompai or not to Kompai?? It was easy for me to tell that Japanese baseball fans love to have a few drinks during the game.

The Dragons Cheering Section
Not bad considering they were the away team. They were equipped with some serious Taiko drums and a couple trumpet players too.

Haruna & Ryoji
Enjoying the 7th inning stretch, as well as the cool autumn air.

Getting Ready....
The Hanshin Tigers are about to win 4-0, so in order to celebrate every single person blows up a huge ballon and then lets them off together when the game ends.

Victory!!!
4-0 Tsuyoi! After the game no one left the stadium until we sang each players own individual song a few times. Gotta love these fans!

Tomoyasu Family Rice Field
Ryoji was nice enough to invite me to help his family do the once a year harvest of their rice field. How could i turn down such an offer?

Old Fashioned
Armed with a traditional Kama I layed into this field only to find out they don't harvest rice like this anymore...

Ryoji's Father
So yeah, this is how they do things today...Traditional Japan wrapped in with the modern...

Ryoji Giving it a Shot
I'm not sure if this looks easy or difficult, but trust me there is more going on than you may know...

Up Close
Gohan is held up high in Japan. It's considered rude to not finish your rice, and by finish I mean every single grain.

Step #2
Remove the brown shell from the rice. This allows for the white part of the rice to be exposed and the rice to become edible.

Step #2
More modern techniques used with the harvesting of rice.

Minoh Falls
Located North of Osaka is the pleasant town of Minoh. Famous for it's nature trails, waterfalls, and wild monkeys.

Minoh Falls
As soon as we entered into the woods of Minoh I think my skin communicated to me that it was very happy for the refreshing change of pace.

Akai Bashi
Yeah, I just like the red bridge...

Traditional Style House
...But really it's just many stored piled into one building.

Minoh Hotel
Strange looking hotel on top of Minoh mountain. Looks a little shady to me...

Comments

[Tracy]

Great Photos!
No suggestions, just wanted to let you know that I'm enjoying your photos. Keep up the great work! :)