Super-Moon Rabbits!

I had an all day trip to Kitakami on Sunday and got home just before Midnight. A highlight of the trip was a visit to Toys r Us and I watched a cute ad for some Toy Story figures. Check it out.

Wow, an inter-racial couple, a mom who had her own kimono-clad Jessie, homemade clothing for a Ninja Buzz and a Kabuto-wearing Woody. If they weren't over 100 bucks each, I'd consider getting them.

 

You know he's evil, because Magistrate Lotso has a topknot. 

 

And his Alien minions merged with sushi in a bizarre kaiten-zushi Hadron collider accident.

 At least they're more reasonably priced.

 I managed to depart without making any purchases. Unusual for me. Tempted by new Avengers toys.

and Dinos.

Next stop was the nearby Mansaido.

 

I refrained from purchases there as well, just picking up a Gatcha-gal. 

I got a squatter.

Her other poses:

 Not much Halloween display happening there, there was a random Treat machine. (I refrained.)

 

 

I also refrained from buying an Ao-Oni.

Next stop was Yorozuya in Shiwa. I think I just missed a DJ event.

Though I was not to late to witness this happy fellow.

I also like their Kaiju-mascot.

Who shows up throughout the store.

I picked up some trinkets yet managed to leave the facility with my wallet intact. Very tempted by this metre-tall Hedorah though.

A two hour drive later took me to Mandai in Furukawa. And lo and behold! They have another Godzilla vending machine!!
 

Far too dark to see it well though.

Final stop was the Mandai in Izumi. I didn't buy anything, though I did win an Oosanshouo (Giant Salamander) purse in one try. 

There's an Oni in Iwate called the Rakshasa, a terribly destructive dude. The villagers prayed to god to smite him, though he got off with a warning. Rakshasa left his handprint in the rock and to this day, no moss grows upon it.

 

You can check out the rocks for yourself. I go back to Kitakami in two weeks, maybe I'll scoot a little further north to Morioka to check it out.

I still have yesterday's escapades to enlighten you with. But now it's bedtime. I suggest you check out the super-moon tonight (too cloudy here) and maybe you'll see the Rabbit making Mochi. This rabbit is buff!

Van-ity.

Last week I went to an Itasha show and uploaded several dozen photos from it (see link). Today, I'll add several more and throw in a few purty photos of scenery.

First though a little explanation about the creature on my shoulder. 

 It's a giant Japanese salamander called an oosanshouo (for actual photos of an actual oosanshouo, click that link), and once I learned of it, it became my all time favourite creature. Here's some more info on it's other name, the pepperfish. I adopted oosanshouo for my gmail account and have been wanting one for ages.  Happily, one day at the UFO Catcher, lo and behold... my prey awaits! 



According to the video, I didn't seem to have much luck but actually I won two for five bucks. (My attempts at a third cost me lots and lots more, but we won't speak of that.)

Cute little gaffers, aren't they?

I wandered around most of the day at the car show with one strapped to my back. It wasn't until I strapped it to my shoulder that anyone really noticed.
Now back to the show...

 Ahhh! More creepy dolls!

 Look out, there are llamas!

I took a break and popped into a pavilion which just happened to feature relics from Turkey. I bought a mediocre Mango Ice Cream.

Boy, that guy should wear a hat or he might just get a sunburn on his noggin.*

*Spoiler alert: He did get a sunburn.

That's about it for the decorated vehicles. Because I didn't opt to pay 1000 yen so that I could take photos of the Cosplayers in attendance, there wasn't much else at the fest to keep me interested. It was still a lovely day, so we went on a walkabout around the grounds.

My friend had abandoned me to wander the river on my own. Fortunately, I befriended a couple of young ladies to snap a pic of me.

It will probably be a few years before I desire to revisit an Itasha show. It was fun but just oozing in car-nerds!