PHOTO of the DAY (JAPAN) Dial up warning

[AsahinaKimi]

Misty morning over Lake Taisho in Nagano Prefecture.


Bonus Photos

This photo, released on Saturday by Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), shows the damaged No. 3 reactor building at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture. Officials said Sunday the plant is now relatively stable.


Fish market workers handle bonito at a port in tsunami-affected Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture. The fishing industry is slowly starting to resume operations seven months after the March 11 disaster.


Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel of Germany practices on the Suzuka Circuit on Friday. The Japanese Formula One Grand Prix will take place on Sunday.


Sunrise over Kamikochi in Nagano Prefecture.


"The Real Face" creator Osamu Kitagawa holds up two three-dimensional copies of his face in this recent photo. The copies capture minute details of his face including birthmarks, stubble, and wrinkles. The copies are a composite of photos, taken of the subject from the front and from each side, transferred onto soft resin. Finally, the resin copy is glued onto a three-dimensional plaster model of the subject. Each first copy goes for 300,000 yen, and with additional copies for 60,000 yen. They are available from Kitagawa's venture company, Real-f, based in Shiga Prefecture. (Mainichi)


An annual ritual to harvest ginkgo nuts is held at Kushida Shrine in Fukuoka's Hakata Ward on Oct. 6. A pair of about 800-year-old ginkgo trees, known as the "Ginan" couple with a height of 22 meters and a circumference of 6 meters each, stand side by side next to the shrine's main hall. The "Ginan" trees attract many followers and admirers as the symbol of power to bless people's relationships and children because they produce a lot of nuts. (Mainichi)


The annual autumn festival "Nagasaki Kunch" at Suwa Shrine, the guardian god of the city of Nagasaki, began on Oct. 7 and runs for three days, with tickets fetching tens of thousands of yen on Internet auctions. Dancers from seven towns perform at the shrine and men from the town of Kabashima conduct the town's 212-year-old traditional ritual of tossing and catching a 1-ton portable shrine-like object called a Taikoyama while dancing to the tune of "Kokkodesho" (Here it is). (Mainichi)


Women in colorful costumes dance on the streets of the Fukushima prefectural town of Kawamata during an Andean music festival on Oct. 8, 2011. Started in 1975 by Andean music enthusiasts living in Kawamata, the Cosquin en Japon festival is the largest South American folk music festival in Japan, attracting some 1,300 people from Fukushima and elsewhere every year. With part of the town under evacuation orders due to the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant crisis, organizers had been worried about this year's turnout -- but were pleasantly surprised to find that there were just as many participants as any other year. The festival runs through Oct. 10. (Mainichi)



No...not noodles. Fish. whitebait donburi at a restaurant in Enoshima, Japan

Mainichi Ohatu ~まいにちおはつ -Something New Every Day

[WillyT]

1. K & R !!! - Thank You !!!

:hi:

:kick:

[AsahinaKimi]

2. you are most welcome

Yorokonde kurete ureshii desu. Glad you enjoyed it.

[Sal Minella]

3. I enjoy your photos so much, always so MANY THINGS new!!!

But I think I will pass on the noodles-with-eyes, thanks . . .

[AsahinaKimi]

4. I have heard from friends this dish

is rather tasty. I always make it a habit to try something first, before rejecting it. Yeah, there are certain things I say no to, but I was surprised, for example eating Sea Urchin. It was quite strong, but was flavorful.

[chillspike]

5. Haha...Anyone else find it counter productive

that a tree that produces a lot of "nuts" symbolizes a blessing to relationships and children? I know that is not the spirit of the symbol but I couldn't help but notice the irony. So funny. :D