Photos from northern Japan

Spring here. The plastic is growing well. (Actually, they are Obanazawa water melons. A brand name).



Dry cultivation has finished. Now it is wet time, and sowing seedlings.

 

Great Pictures Ken

Looks like a muddy job sewing seedlings.
Thanks for posting
Jim

 

Obanazawa water melons, Are those the super expensive ones or are they the square ones? There was an article on the news here, last year, about some super expensive Japanese watermelons that, according to the article, were supposed to be the most prized in the world. They were sold in a special auction and the dollar value was something crazy like $2000. I don't remember the name though. Also I remember some different watermelons that are grown in forms so they are cube shaped. I always thought that was brilliant marketing!

Once again, thanks, great pics! Keep them coming!

 

Awesome pics Yamagata san, & sorry 4 your loss.

 

Thank you gentlemen.

I'm not sure about the super-expensive melons, but they don't come from here. I'll ask the memsahib when she gets back from her trade fair. Obanazawa melons do command a premium price though. Wandering about Saitama (a prefecture close to Tokyo) last week, I came across a food wholesaler selling Yamagata rice. Southerners love to take the piss out of us northerners, but they have no problemo buying our produce.

I grew up on a farm, and we knew never to drive a tractor on a wet field. But we didn't grow a lot of rice in the land of UK. It's a different world here.

The soils here are on new volcanic rock. Rich loams, and we get lots of sunshine and rain through the summer. The fertility is unbelievable. I spent 20 years working as a geologist in the Australian deserts, so this is quite a contrast. We are truly blessed.

 

Forgot to mention, the smudge on the horizon of the previous last photo is Chokai San, our perfect local volcano. We get earthquakes (oh yes!), typhoons and volcanoes. You don't want a volcano in your town. They stuff the roads, and are bad for business.

 

Saw one of these parked next door today. I think it's a Daihatsu, they are quite rare.

 

That is a unique looking rig.


Thanks for posting the pictures.

 

It is wonderful seeing the minis in their home place. Thanks Yamagata san for making these available for all of us to see. It warms my heart to know that my Mitsubushi once was a work vehicle for some family in Japan.

 

A few more of kei stuff in the natural habitat. The box vans are quite common.



Here's the mythical Autozam with a load of rice seedlings.



This is grandma and grandson out on the farm.



And what the landscape looks like in May. This is looking west across the Yamagata plain from our eastern to our western mountains.

 

Ken,
doesn't sound like enough, but thank you, very much.
Tmikewww
(tom)

 

Ken,

I genuinely appreciate the time you take to show us a part of the world that many of us may never see. I hope you'll continue to provide your window to the world to the folks here.

Thanks again!
________
no2 vaporizers

 

I agree

on a seprate note, I did not know they had 7 Elevens in Japan.

 

Thanks again all. I'm semi-retired, so while I don't have much money, I have time and a very nice DSLR.

Stuff99 is right. The 7-11 brand is licensed from the US, but it's wholly Japanese owned and operated. Convenience stores ("conbeni") are very competitive. You can get any necessities (tobacco, alcohol, soft porn etc.) 24 hours a day.

This being a multi-theistic society, there are shrines for all the gods. This one's for fertility.

 

I was browsing through some old photos and came across these. This was in January 2006, and we had epic snowfall, even by local standards. 18 metres as opposed to the normal 12m. On the left is the memsahib's factory roof, on the right the car park. We were on that roof clearing snow every day for a month.

 

It's all happening here. May, and the trucks come out to play.

 

Now everyone knows where to get kei trucks...from these farmers!

This is a very good example of why trucks have low kms. Farmers use them only during planting and harvest times, and a bit of running around.

Really nice photos Ken (or is Ken for Prefecture?)

 

Hi Steven.

Yes, ken is prefecture. My name is Matthew (Mat).

And you are right about the low kms. The farmers (often elderly) use them in spring and autumn, and twice a week to get to the shops. They don't necessarily do a lot of work (though some do).

 

Everywhere, stuff99. The Liteace/Hiace trucks are out there too. They are typically used to transport the farm machinery, as well as all the obvious tradesman stuff. I'll grab some snaps for you.

 

A bit bigger than yours, but here's the Mitsubishi Fuso of the contractors re-building our street. Sweeeet

 

Ken,
What do the "Yellow stickers" in the top center of the windshield denote? I see one with "11" another with "1". My 1996 Subaru Sambar has a "1".
Thank you again for the GREAT pictures!
Tmikewww
(tom)

 

Tom

The sticker is the shaken. It is the indication that the vehicle has been inspected (every 2 years) and carries compulsory government insurance. The colour is the year, and the number is the month.

Posting photos is fun for me. I have some stuff on snow clearing and hot spring baths to put up. I`ll keep going until someone asks me to stop. Thanks for all the kind words so far.

Mat

 

Mat,
Thank you for the information.

Lord have mercy on the person, who requests you quit posting pictures!
Tmikewww
(tom)

Oh yes, any idea what year "yellow" was? Just curious