On the day-long bike trip I took last weekend, we stopped at a well in the middle of Ogaki and elbowed the old folks aside long enough to fill our water bottles with cold, fresh water. It was great. I'm never buying water again!

On the same bike trip, we found a vending machine selling panties and other weird things. I always thought they sold USED panties in Japan, but these seem to be factory-fresh. I find the mannequin models disturbing.

This is something you may not know:

I saw the Nagoya Dragons play the Yokohama Giants and had a great time.

The fans were the best part. I liked hearing everyone yell, "Out-o!" And I don't think there's anywhere else in Japan you could see someone in cut-offs.

And finally, my new love: Domo-kun, the mascot for NHK, Japan's public TV broadcaster. It's impossible to not be charmed by him, I'm convinced. Before the baseball game, I stumbled upon some sort of TV expo and Domo-kun was there. I inadvertantly took this picture, which I love because it looks like this girl's about to be devoured.