Random quirky things in Kobe

Japan is such a quirky, surprising, and off-beat country. Sometimes, things are so unexpected and often charming. Other times, they are just amazing. Here are a few things you would never see in Canada:

First, this is something new to us: a vending machine that makes freshly-squeezed orange juice. The machine is stocked with actual oranges 🍊 which the machine will squeeze to produce a cup of juice. It must take an army of drivers to keep the machines stocked with fresh oranges every day. Hitomi told us the juice is good.

Next, Kutsushitaya. It's a sock shop. That's right - an entire store just for socks. 🧦 I got my socks from this store for many years, and when we walked past it yesterday, my feet turned in, and there I was, buying socks again. You can see the buckets full of socks. Everything in those buckets used to be 3 pair for ¥1,000. There was no inflation. The price didn't change in all the years I shopped there. In our absence, inflation has reared its ugly head, and the price is now all the way up to 3 for ¥1,386. That's about C$13.50.

The last photo is one of those things that just makes us laugh; it's so silly, but nonetheless, quite a common sight: bread made into animal shapes, but for everyone, not just children. How can you not love a country that thinks this is normal? ❤️Read more