I’ve enjoyed soy milk ever since I was a child. Part of the reason is that whenever I was in Taiwan, regular milk disagreed with my insides so I just got used to drinking soy milk instead. The milk in Japan is similar, so I’ve just continued drinking soy milk. What I discovered early on one day at the supermarket was that here, Kikkoman sells little juice-box-sized soy milks in various flavors. Of course I decided to make a point to try and rank them all.

A few weeks ago, I went with a few friends to a 招き猫祭り (Maneki Neko Matsuri), or Lucky Cat Festival. The lucky cat is a figurine of this beckoning cat is often placed at the front of shops to welcome customers. A raised right paw brings in money and luck while a raised left paw brings in people and customers. This festival took place in Seto, a city that was about an hour northeast of Nagoya by train that’s mainly known for its pottery. It’s pretty rural, which means the locals don’t often see a lot of foreigners.

Today was just one of those days.

The garbage and recycling system here is intense.

I’ve been here for 4 days but it feels like it’s been much longer than that. It’s great to be back in Japan! I’ve been jetlagged so I’ve seen several sunrises that look something like this: