Strange Stolen Stuff

FUSSA - Fireflies flying around Fussa are being stolen, prompting careful counting by neighborhod-watch patrols. Fussa’s Hotaru Koen (firefly park), in the western suburbs of Tokyo, is famous for its fireflies. The annual Fussa Firefly Festival in mid-June attracts tens of thousands of people.

Usually 200-to-300 lightning bugs could be seen at the park.

Only 50 fireflies were counted the night after the 2008 festival, down from about 250 the day before. Signs are posted to warn against theft, and the bug’s cages have been reinforced.

Restaurants and hotels in Japan offer genji firefly-viewing menus during the summer months.

According to the operator of an online store selling fireflies on the internet, an adult firefly can sell for up to 300 yen and larva, 400 yen. The store’s clients include hotels, restaurants, temples and TV stations.
source; Firefly Festivals ; Fussa events; Fussa events (J)

NAGOYA - A man stole a corgi dog from its owner due to loneliness. The perpetrator admitted he took the dog.”I was lonely, so I wanted to have a dog,” he said. The man, 43, had stolen another dog from the victim three years ago, according to local police. The 53-year-old owner said the corgi, worth about 10,000 yen, was taken from his home. source (e) (j)

Peaches Picked Quick

TOKYO - About 5,000 peaches were stolen overnight June 23 from an orchard in Ubaguchi village, Yamanashi prefecture. It’s believed a gang of thieves were involved in order to harvest so many in a short time. The pricey peach, known as “hanayome,” or “bride” peach, is a special large, white variety that is often given to newlyweds as a gift for good luck. source

Nice Flour Thieves Return Useful Company Truck

HIGASHIMATSUYAMA, Saitama — More than two tons of flour was stolen from a wholesale company’s warehouse in Higashimatsuyama, about 50 kilometers north of Tokyo. At around 2 a.m. July 10, an employee of Nikkoku Seifun Co.’s distribution center in Higashimatsuyama discovered ninety 25-kilo bags of flour were missing.

Investigators believe a Nikkoku Seifun truck parked inside the distribution center was used by the thief to transport the flour, and then the truck was returned to the warehouse. According to the truck’s odometer, the vehicle had traveled an additional 8 kilometers after being parked for the day.

Police suspect the stolen flour will be resold as flour prices have been rising sharply in recent months. source

related: How to grow white peaches (J with images); Edo-era flour mill; Fussa Firefly Festival panoramic images; Yamanashi Tourism

photos this page: Firefly; Fussa Firefly Park; Corgi; Mitsukoshi 10,ooo yen white peaches; Peach orchard

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The life-size mechanical clown mascot in front of the landmark Cui-daore restaurant in Osaka since 1950 retired July 8 when the business closed it’s doors for the final time.

The restaurant had been popular with tourists because of Cui-daore Taro, the bespectacled drum-beating clown, and its novel menu.

Taro is not the only life-size figure for Japan storefronts.

This celebrity, Tatsuo Umemiya, created a plastic replica of himself for placement in front of his pickled vegetable (tsukemono) stores, probably because a giant pickled eggplant did not appear inviting.

Orange and pink Sato-chan’s guard drug stores.

Colonel Sanders in Japan has a large wardrobe. This outlet in Akihabara has the colonel dressed …continued » » » »

A group of people dressed in kimono stroll around traditional silk production areas to attract attention and help revitalize the silk industry. The Kawagoe Kimono Sanpo members walk around Kawagoe, Chichibu and Gyoda, Saitama Prefecture. The towns maintain a presence of the textile and traditional handicrafts industries. Participants include women in their 20s and a man in his 60s who began wearing kimono after retiring. The strolls are held on the 28th of every month. Kawagoe is located 30 kilometers from Tokyo.


related: Kawagoe City in Japan; Welcome to Kawagoe

No Soy Sauce For You!

Olympic training includes more than fitness. Athletes need stamina. Focus. Specialized diets. And, apparently, foreign food survival and utensil adaptation lessons.

Every Wednesday, a special menu based on the food that will be available at the Olympic Village in Beijing, is served at Japan’s National Training Center. A sign at the NTC declares the food is offered so athletes can get used to unfamiliar tastes.

Miso soup and soy sauce is not available on Wednesdays. Athletes can instead enjoy spring rolls and dumplings. Japanese rice is not offered, replaced by rice from India and Thailand. Plastic knives and forks substituted for chopsticks. The Olympic menus will be offered every Wednesday until the end of July.

Name that Plan

This special Olympic menu training needs a name. May we suggest:
Good Eating Rules Instruction (GERI)
Japanese Inedible Nutrients Information (JINI)

Suggest a name!

photos: NTC; JOC; NTC table; NTC table Sponichi; Athlete eats