A short list of things I've learnt this week

1. At six pm in Takayama they play a song over the municipal loud speakers, telling children to go home for supper.
2. When a brewery has finished a new batch of sake, they hang a ball made from fresh, green cedar fronds above their front door.  When the ball has turned brown, the sake is mature enough to drink.
3. For some unfathomable reason, a single, weak iced coffee, drunk sitting down in a cafe, is only fractionally cheaper than iced coffee, toast, an egg and a portion of potato salad.  Must be why vending machines are so popular.
4. The floats for Hida festivals have their own special tall warehouses with giant double doors.
5. Japanese cranes (as in the building aid, not the bird) have special anti-earthquake dampners at the top.
6. If you are four, Ultraman is very exciting, but a little bit scary.
7. There is a type of tradtional puppet in Japan which is solely designed to bring you tea and cake.  Those Japanese have got their priorities sorted.

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