A Refuge from the Rainy World is a Land

I can only dream of the splendour contained within the walls of Hotel Land Land. I noticed this place when I walked to the mall last week. I glanced over and there it was, an art nouveau anachronism across an unassuming field of green.

According to the web site, under 18 aren't permitted to stay. I guess it's a Love Hotel. Only 6,000 to 10,000 yen, or around 60 to 100 dollars, a night. Not bad. The description from the website, translated by Google:

A dream world like a theme park is even more powerful! If you can see a volcano along the river, that is "HOTEL LAND LAND". The impact is even bigger when you enter the hall! There is a playful space full of curiosity. Five zones, such as princess, jungle, pirates, pharaoh, and cosmo, are a dream world like a theme park. The interiors that match each space were purchased by female owners both inside and outside Japan, and some were made to order.

Female owners, eh? That's progress!

I like the idea that any time you see a volcano along the river, then, magically, Hotel Land Land will appear.

I wish I had a good excuse to stay there. I wish it'd come up in my searches when my apartment wasn't ready yet back in March. But I guess Hotel Land Land chooses when it will be seen.

It's been hot and rainy lately. Here is a local bird doing his best to stay dry while hunting fish:

Critical Cats and Promising Birds

This cat continues to mock me. I turned another corner and there he was. What must I do to avoid the censure of his expressive wit, his wicked tongue? I left him some cat treats I've been carrying in my bag but didn't have time to see if he ate them. But why should I care about his approval anyway?!

This is my last week at the junior high school where I've been working. Then it's off to other work for the company that hired me. I didn't anticipate how great this experience would be, how really wonderful these kids are. To-day I did my best to tell one little girl how great her artwork is and I made the dubious choice of encouraging her to make manga. "Too difficult," she said. I told her, "The best work in life is difficult work."

These kids generally seem so much happier than the adults. I hope the machines of life aren't going to crush them a few years down the road.

Your Shoe and Your Glove?

Something I keep running across in Kashihara--discarded gloves and shoes. Never pairs, always just one glove or shoe. Sometimes it's clearly a gardening glove or shoe meant for going outside but usually there's no apparent explanation.

I saw this pump outside Hard Off last week. It looks pretty scuffed and the toe looks split open. I can see why someone might want to abandon it but, again, why just the one? Did she keep the other, presumably in better condition, in the hopes of buying just one shoe somewhere?

It took a while for it to occur to me to start taking pictures of these. The first one I saw was a really nice terra cota coloured leather woman's glove with ivory and grey fur trim, tangled in a chain link fence. I wish I'd gotten a picture of that.

There are so many lovely birds here that are new to me. I spotted this fellow from a distance, standing so still I thought he was a lawn ornament.

Then his head darted into the water. I don't think he caught anything. So much for patience.

Although I'm in Nara, one of the areas not placed in a state of emergency, many of the restaurants and cafes are closed to-day. I'm also told schools won't be opening until May 7. Maybe that's why there are crowds of teenagers in uniforms everywhere, jamming the trains and crowding the convenience stores. The best laid plans of mice and men . . .