Summer in Rural Japan: A Photo Essay

Photos from the past week of my life here in rural Yamagata, Japan.

Here are a few photos from the past week.

Manoma Tsuruoka

First up, last Friday I had lunch with some friends at Manoma. When you go to rural Japan, besides the seafood, you should definitely see if you can find a so-called “farmers” restaurant, or something along those lines. The produce is fresh, and combined with the skill of a great chef, like those at Manoma, you simply could not ask for better.

Manoma in Tsuruoka. Very simple ingredients,

This was the menu.

Yes, all this for less than US$15. Sorry, I don’t have time to translate it, maybe use Google? I hear they have a good translation app.

Manoma had this awesome calendar as you walked in. This calendar even had the microseasons written on it.

Very cool.

This calendar is based on the microseasons. Each microseason you turn to a new page. (If you’d like one of these in English, reach out, it could make a great present!)

Living in Japan you notice Japanese people love calendars, or at least the people I come across do (my mother-in-law has at least three in her room. It’s not excessive if everyone does it).

I think it’s because Japanese people think in terms of date, rather than day. Tell a Japanese person you want to meet them next Wednesday and they’ll either look for a calendar to check the date, or ask you ‘what date was that’?

Well,

it’s when the irises are in bloom (あやめはなさく).

(They also sometimes use a 24 hour clock in normal conversation. I’ve also had people ask me if I meant 2 PM or 2 AM to meet up…)

It wouldn’t be a Kiwi Yamabushi post without mountains

I did zero edits to this photo. The car just knew what colour I needed. Also bonus heron. Chokai-san for scale.

Chokai-san again. This photo was probably my favourite from this week.

Is it a lawn mower, or a snow clearer?

In summer, it mows. In winter, it clears snow. It’s like a Transformer, or I like to think of it as Thunderbird 2.

Can’t it be both?

These are one of the most genius things I have ever seen. I guess that’s what happens when you live in a place that gets inundated in snow in winter, and blisteringly hot in summer. Needs must and all that.

The Very Japanese Problem

Shonai Jinja in Tsuruoka. Used to be a castle!

Here we have a very nice shot of some shrine grounds, with the huge Torii, the path leading to the shrine, and some ornate lanterns.

Take a few steps back though…

That same Jinja sans cars thanks to the signs.

I love you Japan, but your signage is killing me.

Speaking of:

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Daily Yamabushi for The Week

This place is for sale! Great location! Not so great garden…

Daily Yamabushi posts for the week of June 28 to July 3, 2025.

Read Daily Yamabushi at timbunting.com/blog. Everything I make is free of charge if you know where to find it. I’d start here.

1. Because Uketamo

2. The Team Player

3. She is Testing You

4. Ready or Not

5. Inertia

6. Resistance Training

7. Do you Have a Genuine Excuse?