Chika
メイド喫茶 – Maid Cafe
A maid cafe is a type of coffee shop in Japan where waitresses, dressed in maid costumes, provide service to customers. The male equivalent is known as a Butler Cafe. In these themed establishments, customers are treated as the “house master” (for men) or “my lady” (for women), with the waitstaff assuming the roles of house maids or butlers.
Upon entering a maid cafe, customers are greeted with “Welcome back home,” rather than the standard “welcome.” Similarly, when it’s time to leave, they hear “Safe travels!” instead of a simple “thank you.” This unique atmosphere and attentive service create an immersive and personalized experience, making each visit a special event.
メイド喫茶とはメイドの恰好をしたウェイトレスが働いている喫茶店（男性版は執事喫茶）。客はご主人様でウェイトレスはメイドという設定なので、来店した時には「いらっしゃいませ」ではなく、「おかえりなさいませ」、帰る時は「ありがとうございました」ではなく、「行ってらっしゃいませ」と言われる。男性客は「ご主人様」、女性客は「お嬢様」と呼ばれるのが普通だ。
カッパ – Kappa
A kappa is a yōkai in Japanese folklore. The oldest writing about Kappa appears in a dictionary that was first made in 1444. It’s supposed to have a child-sized body and look like a frog or a turtle with a plate on its head. It lives in a river or a swamp and it likes wrestling with people who pass by. If you win against a kappa, then the kappa will always be compliant to you, but if the kappa wins, he may pull you under the water. It keeps water in the plate on its head, and it is said that it will die if the plate gets broken or dried out. The kappa is said to be especially fond of cucumbers, so the sushi roll with cucumber is known as a Kappa Roll because of this fact.
京都の川床 – Kyoto Riverbed
Kyoto is well-known for its riverbed restaurants. These are restaurants that build zashiki or a tatami-covered platforms on the river and serve food and drinks. This service normally runs from May until September. However, Kyoto gets very hot in the summer, so there is no service at lunch time between June and August due to the danger that food might spoil in the heat.
御朱印 – Goshuin
About 500 years ago, Goshuin already existed. It is believed that back then a Goshuin was an official stamp that was used at shinto shrines and temples, and that it was also an official stamp used by the shogun and daimyo. By sometime during the edo era the system had changed though, and common visitors can now receive goshuin for a small fee. To those visitors a goshuin was like an amulet blessed by the holy spirit that they received and treated with gratitude and respect. In Japan today, there are many people especially women who collect goshuin. Here are some things that you should keep in mind if you want to receive goshuin. 1. You should purchase a goshuin-cho. This is a notebook to receive a goshuin. 2. If you are planning on receiving goshuin from both shrines and temples, you should have a separate goshuin-cho for each. You should not mix shrines and temples. 3. You should properly pray first before you ask for a goshuin. 4. This is not just a hobby or pastime. It is believed that the spirit of god or Buddha is always present in Goshuin. So treat them with respect. There are some shrines and temples that no longer give away goshuin due to the bad manners of the visitors. Some goshuin look so cute, and I can understand that people want to collect them as a hobby, but please understand the true meaning of goshuin.
Rainy Day in Tokyo
Tourists typically prefer to visit Japan during the dry and sunny days, but I still enjoy cloudy skies, and the look and sound of rain on the glistening streets and buildings. This is a photo of Tokyo Tower in the rain.
梅雨 – Rainy Season
Last year the rainy season ended at the end of June in Tokyo. That was the earliest ever according to the Japan Weather Association which has been keeping records since 1951. This year they are predicting that the rainy season will last until the mid/end of July. Usually the rainy season in Tokyo area starts near the end of May or the beginning of June and ends around the beginning to middle of July. The rain often brings out the beauty of scenery in Japan especially at the traditional showplaces.
鈴木秀総 – Hidenobu Suzuki
This is a rainy season photo by Suzuki Hidenobu of a pond known as Monet’s pond in Gifu, Japan. Hidenobu is a well-known photographer not only in Japan but also in Europe and the U.S. He received a gold award at the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts (SNBA) exhibition that was held at the Louvre Museum in 2016. His photos were displayed at the SNBA exhibitions in 2016 and 2017 and at Art Expo New York in 2018. He has received several awards from the National Geographic Society in 2014~2018. More of his photos are here.
Andes Melon
The Andes Melon (アンデスメロン) was developed by a Japanese nursery company in 1977. This is short for “Anshin-des Melon”. Anshin-des Melon literary means “worry free melon” in Japanese because this breed resists mildew, fungus and other diseases better than other existing varieties. But the name anshin-des would not appeal to most Japanese people, so they dropped “shin” and just called it Andes Melon. Of course this makes it sound like it came from the Andes Mountains, but the nursery company did not have a problem with this – probably because that sounds foreign and stylish. Personally speaking I love the name Anshin-des Melon 100 times better than Andes Melon. lol
八村塁 – Rui Hachimura
