Only 30 Shopping Days to Christmas...

And that includes Christmas Day itself, by the way. Despite the fact that most people in Japan consider themselves Shinto or Buddhist, Christmas certainly seems to be very popular judging by the amount of seasonal merchandise on display in downtown Kobe. No sooner had the Halloween festivities finished than the jack o' lanterns and ghouls were speedily replaced by 'Merry Christmas' signs and (rather cool, it must be said) blue LEDs threaded through trees. But then it's no surprise really when you consider that a nation so dedicated to shopping is hardly going to pass up the commercial bonanza on offer courtesy of old Santee Claws (a salient reminder that the genius of Disney marketing can effect a seamless segue between the two occasions).

In Japan it is actually common to give Christmas presents. Parents give presents to their children, but children do not give presents to their parents. The reasoning behind this is that only Santa brings presents, so once the children no longer believe in Santa the presents are no longer given. Utterly logical, as you might expect. Christmas cake is also a little different from Western expectations, comprising a sponge cake with whipped cream and strawberries!

So what can you buy with your hard-earned yen in these parts? Well, not surprisingly, it's more a question of what can't you buy. As the weather wasn't too great this weekend, we went Christmas shopping...

Socks are always a safe bet, and we've got Kutsushitaya Socks, proudly boasting of their merchandise that "knitted with a workman's spirit, they represent an air of the time" (although it must be said that in our house said air is not always so fresh). Despite sounding for all money like a communist manifesto, it's actually just Japanese for 'socks shop'. Nice socks though.

It would be most unlike the Japanese not to inject proceedings with just a hint of sauciness, and here it is, in the form of some very un-PC apparel for the young lady wishing to partake of the Christmas spirit and maybe cheer up some old fat blokes in the process.

There were a huge number of these costumes, all variations on the same theme but with ever more imaginative names, like 'Milky Santa Girl', 'Soft Honey Santa Girl' and my personal favourite 'Pixie Food Santa'. Jessica chose her favourite too, although we didn't buy it. There didn't seem to be many takers for the 'tall bloke in a schooldress' costume in the background either.

Still stuck for a present? Forget ipods - we've got iFish! We've got spatulas in the shape of frogs. We've got shoes with animal faces on.

And if all else fails, for those very special ones we've got that old favourite, the bowl of fruit, although at a somewhat eye-popping price. This little ensemble below - let's see, there's a melon, an apple, a pear, and orange, some other bits and bobs hiding around the back... oh, and a basket - will set you back a cool 48 quid!

Fishing For Cormorants

Arashiyama lies on the outskirts of Kyoto and is a popular destination for tourists, particularly in late November, when the Japanese maple explodes into a riot of orange, gold and crimson (known as 'koyo'). There are plenty of things to see there, including the Togetsukyo Bridge and the Tenryuji (Heavenly Dragon) Zen Temple.

The temple was built in 1339 and has burnt down a total of eight times since then, which seems more than just a little careless. Maybe it was all that meditation - forgetting that the oven was on etc - or just smoking in bed (cigarettes are outrageously cheap in Japan). It even withstood a crunching encounter with Jack's choppers as he came a bit of a cropper crawling across the wooden flooring. The current building is 'only' around 150 years old, but is impressive nevertheless. Even more outstanding is the landscaped garden, one of the oldest in Japan, which also dates back to the fourteenth century. The garden is a fine example of the Japanese gardening art of 'shakkei', or 'borrowed scenery' - using natural landmarks outside the garden's boundaries to create a grandiose visual composite.

We took a boat ride up the Hozu River, populated mainly by courting couples rowing, no doubt in preparation for many more years rowing (an English linguistic joke for my Japanese friends). We were punted upstream by a relatively sprightly but somewhat weather-beaten octagenarian local. Alex, our resident 'local' and surrogate guide, informed us that in the summer the river is famous for the spectacle of 'ukai', a traditional and rather bizarre practise involving painstakingly-trained birds on the ends of leashes. As Alex went into more detail, and collectively the jaws of all those present thudded in unison onto the picnic table in the long, thin boat, we learnt that for over a thousand years the locals have tied strings around the necks of cormorants and used them to catch fish.

The lease has a dual purpose - providing both the means to control the birds and at the same time restricting their windpipe just enough to make sure that fish are not swallowed and can be subsequently squirted back out for supper. Truly mind-boggling stuff - and to think we give the Japanese grief for whale fishing!

Postscript: While I'm not taking any sides in this particular debate, the Japanese are quite defensive about the whole whale fishing thing. First off, the minke whale is not even close to being an endangered species, and there is a suspicion that bleeding-heart western liberals might actually think it's spelt 'minky', and therefore might, just might, be a little bit cute. And even though us Brits can blame foie gras on the French, it's a recorded fact that we have fed cows... to cows! ...so we're hardly squeaky-clean on animal rights.

PS: Just in case you're wondering, I didn't take the picture above - you can find out more about the wonders of ukai here:

http://www.phototravels.net/japan/ukai-cormorant-fishing.html

Waterworld Part II

In stark contrast to Universal Studios and its teeming hordes of thrillseekers, this weekend we ventured forth about a mile down the road to the Kobe Water Science Museum. Along with about fourteen other people. Which is a little sad, because water is far more important than Woody Woodpecker's missus or a rubbish Kevin Costner film.

For a refurbished rapid filtration plant, the Water Science Museum is actually quite a grandiose appointment. Quite why it was deemed necessary to engage celebrated architects - in this instance one Kozo Kawai - to design sewage works is a bit of a mystery, but he did a nice job. To add to the general feeling of bewilderment as you approach the building, there is a quite impressive sculpture of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. Immediately outside the museum there was a splendid opportunity to take arty photos...

Not to be outdone by the likes of Universal Studios, you rather suspect that the local municipal authority had spent a small fortune on their own lovable hosts - in this case it is the Mi-ckle Family, the "fairies of the water".

But then, especially considering it's approximately a fiftieth the cost of Universal Studios, the Water Science Museum stands its ground well. There were plenty of things for Jessica to press, push, pump and squirt, and even though everything was in Japanese (something which, so far, we've not found to be the norm, to be honest) there was a discernible point to everything. And from a purely personal point of view, I found that there was at long last a discernible point to Mr Rhodes' achingly dull Geography lessons at school - this was the first time I had ever seen an Archimedes' Screw, even if this one was made out of polythene hosepipe, as opposed to being fashioned from wood and bronze, as he told us it was.

All in all, 200 yen well spent then...