Bayside Mall

The Bayside Mall was the biggest shopping center in Kishiwada, my hometown. Outside of the mall was a small Shinto shrine.

There was also a park outside of the mall, right next to the ocean.

In Japan even the graffiti is cute.

Here was a chapel for Western-style marriages.

Here's the actual mall.

The restaurants in malls in Japan display plastic model menus. It turns out food can be adorable.

One store sold custom painted jeans. They had some awesome designs!

Power Rangers and Pokemon. This is Japan.

Arcades were really popular too.

Here's my roommate James playing the traditional taiko drum version of Guitar Hero.

In Japan they call Baskin Robbins "saatiwan aisukuriimu" ("thirty-one ice cream"). This picture is for my mom. She lived in Japan years ago and thought saatiwan was so funny!

I never tried it, but Game Revolution definitely looked exiting.

The soap dispensers looked futuristic somehow.

I love that Japanese toilets have control panels with more buttons than a TV remote. My favorite part of going to the bathroom in Japan is turning up the heat on the seat.

Hamadera Kouen

Kouen means park. This was a park between my home and the place I worked. I loved the parks in Japan. The gardens were beautiful!

I'm not very materialistic but for some reason I really want this tree. In my front yard.

The park ran next to a stream that people would float around in.

Playground!

In Japan they brace the trees so that they're able to grow at weird angles. I love the way they look!

Don't worry. Those aren't real lions. However, those mushroom homes are real.

It's the mushroom kingdom!

Tree bullying is a big issue in Japan. I'm just way impressed that this kid was able to break off a limb with one hand.

This reminds me of Jurassic Park.

Tree hugging!!

Their gardens are works of art. They had such cool designs! I love the ways they combine the plants with water and bridges and pathways and lanterns and stuff.

Dragonfly photo-shoot.

Throughout the park they had different buildings that you could relax in.

I also loved the way they used rocks in their gardens. Rocks were really valued for their aesthetic qualities.

BIG BEE!

This fossil is evidence that people lived at the bottom of this stream centuries ago before the waters rose.

Toadstool.

Kodomo = children. The primary benefit of school uniforms is adorableness.