Open Air Market

What's better than discovering an open-air market within walking distance of your house? Finding one that is dominated by handmade crafts, of course! While Jennifer stayed behind a bit longer in the States at the tail end of our last visit, John wandered the streets of Ebina, heartbroken and counting down the seconds until her return (Actually - he was out with a joyful group of friends, but where's the dramatic storytelling it that? :-)). In any event, he stumbled upon a weekend market in the open space of a nearby shopping center. Since then, it has been on our list of things to check out and we recently seized the opportunity to soak in the hustle and bustle of this lively weekend social center.

Booths in sight!

We very quickly discovered rows and rows of booths proudly displaying handicrafts, each with the artist/cashier not too far away. It's always special to purchase items from the actual person who put the effort and talent forth to create them. On that note - Lisa (Jennifer's sister) - you should start getting excited about your birthday gift now :-). The setting was complete with live music and kids splashing in the fountain...an unbeatably picturesque summer day.

Live music!

For as clean as the Japanese are, it's surprising to see their children splashing in public fountains, but it sure is cute!

Also on the hunt for curtain fabric for our living room (an ongoing house project for Jennifer), we had the chance to explore some of the previously overlooked shops in the mall surrounding the market. Although we had no luck finding fabric, there was a Japanese game room, a movie theater and a grocery store offering samples of Japanese delicacies. The theater plays many of the same movies being distributed in the U.S., however we took comfort in knowing that although shows seem overpriced in America, the prices still beat the $17.00 general admission ticket of a talkie over here in Japan. Fortunately the food sampling experience went much better than usual, since unlike other "that looks good" moments, John did not end up with ground/compressed fish on a stick this time.

Game room (arcades are very popular here)!

Grocery store taste test!

Flashback for comparison: "this is not a pastry, it's fish". (circa April 2014)

With so much to see and do, we're confident that our upcoming summer wanderings will land us back at this market very soon!