This Weekend in 2005

(FIRST...like the new look?!? My rad friend, Christine, has mad photoshop skills! Thanks, Christine!!!)

We were living in Japan and John was gone. SURPRISE! So, I marched my happy self to MWR (Morale Welfare & Recreation) and found a trip to take. Just so happened I hopped a bus to a Fertility Festival! (Ok, so it seems my pictures are a week off as the festival is held March 15, but let's go with it...)

Tori gate entrance to the festival.

Wooden plaque called 'ema.' You write wishes on them and leave them at a shrine.

Early cherry blossoms.

According to locals, you crawl through this for good fertility luck. Well, shoot. It worked...

Vulva, people. Follow me with the theme of the day here.

Touching the penis for fertility.

Large wooden penis.

More touching for good luck. Again, I'm certain it was not needed. 

Phallic reference of the nose...

Pretty sure this one speaks for itself! 

There are always parades for pomp and circumstance.

This held the new wooden penis for the year.

Japan has some spectacular street food! This was some of the less random foods available: fried rice!

Is that a banana in your pocket? 

The mochi (pounded rice) formed in to balls. It was being thrown from a roof for God knows what reason. I stood under an awning to avoid being pegged with this 1,000 pound 90 mile and hour fastball. Then I ran to pick one up to pose for a picture!! 

 The same weekend, I went rock climbing somewhere on Kanagawa prefecture. I wish I had blogged then so I could remember the name of this place. It was beautiful. I had a great work out and met some new friends. 

We were climbing the walls on either side in this gap.

It seems after all that fun, I still had energy to come home to take "MySpace" pictures for John. Check out the hair!! ...and the FIVE head!