One of my favorite photos from Japan is of these colorful little temple dolls. We found them at the last station in a temple 6.3km from the top of Mt. Fuji. Although the weather refused to cooperate with us that day, we still had a great time exploring the area despite the fact that the elusive mountain remained hidden behind her cloak of clouds and mist.
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did the dolls remind you of muppets?
and Mt Fuji, I have always wanted to visit japan. One of these days.
Ba ha ha ha. That was the first thing I said to John when I saw them! Great minds think alike eh?
I really dig your blog – love the insights about Taiwan and the other places you have lived. I have lived in Japan for nine years and will be moving to Taipei in October. My wife is Taiwanese and our daughter is super international – born in Japan, already the proud dual citizen – a US passport and a ROC passport -
Really looking forward to my first year in Taiwan – any advice?
Hi Nathan,
Thanks! Japan is such a unique place. Moving to Taiwan is going to be a big change. Taipei is a great city. The people are great. The food is out-of-this-world and there’s always something to do. I’m sure you’ll settle in quite nicely. Good luck with your move!
That is a great picture, I love the colors
They do seem to be a little bit too fragile to travel in a backpack when hiking, no?
Thanks Kim. You know, I kinda wish I’d picked one of these guys up, but you’re right. They were fragile and I was completely besotted with the Japanese kokeshi dolls and had no room in my heart for anything else.
Great picture! Those are Tengu bells, according to the Japanese written on the far left underneath. Tengu are long-nosed goblins, and their depictions can be seen everywhere in Japan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tengu).
Kaminoge,
Thank you! I hate posting photos when I don’t know anything about the subject, but try as I might, I couldn’t find anything about them. Apparently, I wasn’t looking in the right place. I found plenty of information on Kokeshi dolls, which are really a spectacular form of Japanese folk art (in my opinion). These are just as charming. Thanks again very much for the information and for dropping by!