Exploring a Bit of Kamiyam


We set out to go to the ATM and "Shokuryōhin-ten" (grocery). Kamiyama stretches a couple of miles East to West on a main road through a plateau. The cheapest ATM is at the post office in a small commercial area on the East end of town.


Here is the ATM which is on the outside of the post office in an enclosed space that locks when occupied.


English option makes it super easy!


Behold - instant money! This is 30,000 yen which, with a very favorable exchange rate for yanks, is only $210. When we were here in 2010, it would have been almost $300.


Looking back on the post office and ATM.


Unusually spacious three car garage. To park a U.S. SUV in here, it would need to be parked parallel and would take up the whole space!


You might like to blow this up to see the design which adorns each corner of this little bridge. Ayu says the bird is a "shirasagi" which is common in this area. It's similar to a white heron.


Outside the grocery, upside down bells? No, it's actually a down spout - an ingenious and ornamental way of slowing downpour so it does not overwhelm the drain below.


Vending machines and picnic tables outside of grocery.


Enthralled with all the drink options.




Alim's idea of heaven. Prepared sushi fresh, clean and cheap!



We don't know if you can say the Japanese have the best gelato, but it's surely among the best. Most places make it on-site as is the case here, and they all have their own unique flavors. The flavors apparently change frequently, and this day they were: vanilla, tomato, coarse tea, pickled plum, soy milk, feijoa (doesn't translate), mochi "sprtided" (we guess this is Japanglish for sprinkled) with flour, mangot (surely Japanglish for mango) and watermelon. Alim got "coarse tea," and Miriam chose "pickled plum." Both were incredibly delicious!


And to order and pay, we had to use this machine. You push the buttons for what you want, and it tells you the total cost. You can pay with either cash or a credit card. Then it prints a ticket which you then take to the counter. The man at the counter was very sweet with the befuddled foreigners. He let us point to our choices and then pushed the buttons for us.




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