Whippet Snippets

Passion for Fresh Pets

Way back in the courtship days, Boy once gave Girl a box of Fruits & Passion soaps. In return, Girl gave Boy a Fruits & Passion gift box for his birthday. Now a Boy-Girl thing has turned into a Boy-Dog or Girl-Dog or Boy-Dog-Girl thing, with the introduction of their HOTdog line of products. "Specially developed for a dog's highly sensitive sense of smell, HOTdog contributes to the well being of both you and your pet." Girl had an in-store whiff of the products yesterday in Vancouver, and was most impressed with the Fresh and Lustrous Spray (pictured at left) and could see that being useful for certain roll-in-the-grass-type situations. The Eau de Toilette though? A bit of overkill. Ribsy, who thinks he's as fresh as spring dew, disagrees with the entire product line. He'd be made a mockery at the dog park if any of his pals found out he was being spa-ddled.

Japan 2005 highlights - part II

So onwards we go with the 2nd half of our recent Japan journey. By the way, all the pictures are now uploaded to the album.

First off, a stop at the Pivot P-Dog store in Okayama, where the owner did indeed post up the picture of Ribsy we left there a year ago. Ribsy's pic is in the lower right hand side.

 

 

 

Slightly overwhelmed, and slightly tired by the traditional onsen experience we had at 6am in Matsuyama at the Dogo Onsen, the oldest hot springs resort in Japan. Our 1200 yen admission included use of the social lounge where we were treated to green tea and rice crackers, plus a tour of the emperor's-only bathing area.

Then onto true sexiness. In the name of bountiful fertility, Girl is pleased to present you with photographs of the wooden penis in front of the sex museum at Uwajima.

By the way if anyone knows what this sweet-smelling orange-flowered tree is, please let Boy know. He is craving to grow this in the backyard.

 

 

 

The next day we were onto Nara and its park full of deer, which are considered the messengers of the gods. They were certainly persistent in delivering their messages.

 

   

A couple of friends.

 

 

 

Then one final visit to the onsen, Amagisou Onsen in Kawazu, Shizuoka prefecture, located by a roaring waterfall. With more than 20 different baths, and most of them co-ed, Boy and Girl made good use with the bathing attire they had packed in case their vacation travels had taken them to Hawaii or Morocco. The resort even featured hot springs in the cave, and Girl managed to take one shot of Boy before risking the camera to a watery death.

And for those who enjoy bathing alone, the facility also had a set of five pots, where you can plant your entire self down without fearing of rubbing into someone else's toe.

 

   

Finally, back in Tokyo. Goodbye Shibuya - this is an 'illegal' picture taken from the Starbuck's, the choicest spot for watching the throngs of people crossing at this most famous intersection.

 

   

Final stops were made to Akihabara, the city's electronics district, where Boy immersed himself in the three-screen ecstasy known as Flight Simulator, and to Harajuku, a packed promenade of shops and freaks on parade.

     

A great trip and a fabulous time. The entire photo album is available here.

Japan 2005 highlights

Some highlight pics from the Japan 2005 trip. Boy and Girl returned yesterday (unfortunately not in first-class), much to the excited delight of Ribsy, who thought they were never going to come home again. Fat chance with a Magoo in their lives!

The view of Mt. Fuji taken from the airplane on the way over to Nagoya.

 

 

 

Our travel mates during the flight and early portion of the trip, having lunch in Takayama.

 

 

 

And you thought sake was just served in a nice cup hot or cold with a meal. Here in Japan you can buy the wine as part of a nice frozen treat.

 

 

 

 

Even ice cream cones in Japan have to be cute. Note the mini-cone-sized scoop for enjoying ice cream in miniscule bites.

 

 

 

 

 

The spread from our ryokan meals in Takayma, including their renowned Hida beef and hoba miso cooked atop a magnolia leaf.

 

 

 

 

The river view from our room at the Sumiyoshi Ryokan in Takyama.

 

 

 

More from Sumiyoshi, including samurai armour displayed in the lobby.

 

 

 

 

Random scenes from Osaka.

 

 

 

 

From tiny Shiraishi Island, between Honshu and Shikoku Islands.

 

 

 

And a few more from Shiraishi Island, before departing to Shikoku.

 

 

 

Part II to come tomorrow. Including pictures of the big wooden penis.

Optimally prime

Happy to be back home, Ribsy was pleasantly surprised to receive a new pair of Doggles from a pet shop in Tokyo. Protective eyewear made especially for pooches, his was a very cool black-on-black pair that had him quickly seeing UV.

Homeward Bound

Boy and Girl have completed their alone time and will be reunited with Ribsy, who`s being spoiled by his Grandma right now back in Victoria. They won`t make it back in time for the weekly Whoop Up but will be armed with a special treat or two for Ribsy. Pet supplies for the most part here in Japan cater to the ultra cute, ultra tiny pugs, daschunds, chihuahuas, Boston terriers and the like, so unfortunately there will be no spangly Engrish furry vest for the chesty Magoo. However, lots of kisses and licks are expected to explode like fireworks down at English Bay.

Hard on...the feet

Feet hurt. Ofuro good for soaking said hurt feet.

It`s Thursday night and Boy and Girl are once again in Osaka. Tuesday was spent on Shiraishi Island, a Japanese fishing village of about 800 people, accessible only by ferry. Boy and Girl were the only guests at the Villa that night, so they had the entire place to themselves, where they enjoyed the stunning views of the Seto Inland Sea, the kitchen amenities and the mosquito-ridden Japanese style guest room. In the morning, they woke up to a beautiful sunrise and numerous bites all over. Itching to get off the Island, they caught the early ferry back to the mainland where the zipped over to the smallest of the four main islands in Japan, Shikoku. They made their way by train to Matsuyama, known for a majestic castle and for being the home to the oldest hot springs in Japan, the Dogo Onsen. There is a separate bath facility for the Emperor`s family, and even a special gate that is only opened for their entry. That gate, the manager said, has only been open 10 times ever. After a complicated onsen experience consisting of tea, rice crackers and numerous flights of stairs, Boy and Girl "headed" off in search of a big wooden penis. Back in the day, fertility festivals and shrines and all that jazz about sex wouldn`t make anyone blush or giggle. Nowadays, well...when asking the Uwajima Information Office attendant where the Taga Shrine was - home of a sex museum and a large wooden penis - she giggled, cover her hand and said, "Oooohhhh...funny shrine." The large wooden penis was indeed a large wooden penis, and inside the museum gazillions of sexual artifacts from Asia dominated the displays, the walls, the ceilings. No manga here! One amusing display was of photographs taken of various vegetables which were found to be shaped like little penises and little vaginas. Having seen way too many of these objects in way too little amount of time, Boy and Girl passed on buying the little penis keychains and little vagina crackers for sale by the exit. Instead they rode three trains for over five hours to get back to Osaka for the night. Enroute they stopped by a dog store in Okayama called Pivot P-Dog Life with Friend, where a year ago they left a picture of Ribsy to tape up to their pet wall. Lo and behold on the return visit, Ribsy`s picture was indeed there - "[heart]Ribsy[heart], Whippet, Victoria, CANADA".

Today, a trip to beautiful Nara had them chuckling over the dishelved, mangy deers that populate the main park. Vendors sell special deer crackers so that people can feed them. What people don`t realize is that as soon as they purchase these crackers, they are swarmed by deer. They are not shy about begging for food, and in fact are taught how to bow for their food, so that all the tourists can coo over how cute the deer are. That is, until they start swarming. Tonight off for dinner with Boy`s friend, then off to an amazing-looking onsen called Takaragawa southwest of Tokyo.

Food report: okonomoyaki, or Japanese 'pizza' very good; the ebi filet o fish was really good. It`s a slight shame that the same sandwich wouldn`t fly back in North America. Spongy cruellers were scarfed down at Mister Donut, a poor substitute for Timmy`s. Gyozas are super deelish. Starbuck`s frappucinos are the same here as they are anywhere else in the world. Horse sashimi tastes somewhat like prosciutto. A bit gamey.