Princess’s Holy Water, Fertility Festivals and More

April 2015 was a month centered on traveling to fertility festivals around Japan.

There were also kangaroos everywhere.

It was also remarkable for a weirdly named drink, “お嬢様の聖水,” which literally translates as the princess’s holy water, but can mean her pee.

Cop A Gander At These Rippers Too...

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    Venerable Kangaroo Bakery Jumps At Its Chances

    Kangaroo is a small, and well-liked bakery in Kawasaki that has been operating for 38 years and has grown more recently to include a cafe, gallery space and architectural office, all in the same building called House Kangaroo. Kangaroo bakes natural yeast, organic flour breads, and sells weekend-only loaves and sandwiches, but also accepts reservations for bread as its products frequently sell out fast. Adjacent to Kangaroo is roo cafe, which opens only on Fridays and Saturdays, selling an array of beverages and treats. In the same building is roo space, which is a rentable gallery and pop-up space area used for exhibitions, shows and workshops. Architectural firm On is…

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    How’d Ya Shape An Aussie Garden In Suburban Tokyo?

    どうやってオーストラリアの一部を東京の郊外に？ Alex Endo, arguably Japan’s preeminent designer of Aussie gardens, carried out a remarkable transformation of our block in suburban Tokyo. Alex Endoは、日本で最も優れたオージーガーデンのデザイナーと言っても過言ではなく、東京郊外にある我が家の区画を見事に生まれ変わらせてくれた。 He planned several months in advance over the winter. When the spring came around, he had a selection of Australian native plants ready to go into the block. 彼は冬の間に数か月かけて綿密に計画を立て、春が訪れる頃には、区画に植えるためのオーストラリア原生植物をしっかり揃えていた。 How It Started Among the trees he planted in our back yard were a callistemon, a couple of species of grevillea, some myrtles and a banksia. These added to a wattle we had grown in a plant for a couple of years that we put into the ground. 裏庭に植えてくれた木々には、カリステモン、数種類のグレヴィレア、マートル類、そしてバンクシアが含まれていた。これらは、数年間鉢で育ててきて、地植えにしたワトルをさらに引き立ててくれた。 How It Turned Out We also added a decent…

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    Campbelltown Forest of Wild Birds A Slice of Oz in Sleepy Saitama

    Koshigaya, located some 30 kilometers from downtown Tokyo, and Campbelltown, which is situated about 50 kilometers from Sydney’s central business district, were almost made for each other, even if only serving as satellite cities for their respective countries’ largest cities. Koshigaya and Campbelltown are sister cities and it’s hard to see a better example of the custom than the relationship between the Japanese bed town and its Aussie sibling. Koshigaya is also home to a picturesque corner of Australia, complete with wallabies, emus and some lovely wild birds, including rainbow lorikeets, superb parrots, Major Mitchell’s cockatoos, tawny frogmouths and kookaburras. The Campbelltown Forest of Wild Birds in Koshigaya could arguably…

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    How Did An Aussie Bloke Build One of Japan’s Favourite Craft Breweries?

    オーストラリア人はいかにして日本で人気クラフトビール醸造所を築いたのか？ When Australian Sean Collett moved to Japan, he came to study—not to brew beer. Today, he and his Japanese wife Ayako run Two Rabbits Brewing in Shiga Prefecture, creating beers that blend Australian creativity with Japanese craftsmanship. オーストラリア出身のショーン・コレットさんは、留学のために日本へやって来ました。 しかし現在では、日本人の妻・綾子さんとともに滋賀県で「Two Rabbits Brewing」を営み、オーストラリアの発想と日本のものづくり精神を融合させたクラフトビールを造っています。 From Australia to Lake Biwa オーストラリアから琵琶湖へ Sean Collett first came to Japan as a student at Kyoto University. While living in Japan, he discovered that the country’s growing craft beer scene offered an opportunity to combine two passions—brewing and cultural exchange. Together with his wife Ayako, he founded Two Rabbits Brewing in neighbouring Shiga Prefecture. Today, the brewery welcomes both local customers and visitors from around the world….

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    What’s The History of Sister City Relationships Between Australia And Japan?

    日豪の姉妹都市交流はいつ始まったのか？ Long before exchange students, social media and Zoom meetings, two communities decided they wanted to become friends. Their decision sparked a movement that now links more than 100 Australian and Japanese cities and has brought hundreds of thousands of people together. 留学やSNS、オンライン会議が普及するずっと前、オーストラリアと日本の二つの町は「友達になろう」と決めました。その小さな決断は、今では100を超える姉妹都市交流へと発展し、何十万人もの人々を結び付けています。 One of the World’s Earliest Connections 世界でも早い時期に始まった交流 Australia and Japan’s first sister-city relationship was established in 1963 between Lismore, New South Wales, and Yamatotakada, Nara Prefecture. Only eighteen years had passed since the end of the Second World War. Choosing friendship over history was a remarkable act of goodwill. 世界でも早い時期に始まった交流 日豪初の姉妹都市提携は、1963年にニューサウスウェールズ州リズモア市と奈良県大和高田市の間で結ばれました。 第二次世界大戦の終結から、まだ18年しかたっていませんでした。 過去ではなく未来を選んだ、象徴的な出来事でした。 It Was About People 主役は市民だった The idea wasn’t driven by national governments. Instead, local…

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    Rainbow Over Allah And Putting A Tiger In The Tank

    Work slowed down and it was a little easier to enjoy life, which allowed for stopping to smell the roses and capturing such opportunities as a rainbow shining above the Tokyo Mosque and beefing up Bargearse the bike. Mrs. Kangaeroo and I also got to visit an exhibition by the delightful Kyoichi Tsuzuki, who has been chronicalling Japan’s quirky side for decides. He was showing displays from hihokan, the now vanishing but once almost ubiquitous sex museums across Japan. Bargearse, meanwhile, my erstwhile fat bike, got an upgrade with tiger decorations, taking over from a predecessor pedallar that piqued my interesting in pedalling.