#post34

Finally back home and it’s homemade croquettes and the closest you can get to tacos in Japan.  The fillings were delicious, although we all agreed that the taco shells were pretty stale.  I wonder if there was a hole in the bag or something?

So, apparently, there are a ton of different cemeteries in this area, and each one is dedicated to a different ethnicity.  This first one is for Chinese.  It’s a little hard to see, but the left pillar at the front gate (pic 1) reads, translated, “Chinese Cemetery.”  Sorry, but I can’t read the pillar on the right.  Lol.

When you first walk into the cemetery, it’s a little confusing because you don’t see any graves at all (pics 2-3); they’re all when you round the corner (pics 4-5).  It was just recently Obon, the Japanese holiday when you honor your dead and, if possible, visit their graves to clean them and leave offerings.  I’m guessing the Chinese-Japanese also observe Obon, because some of the graves have definitely been recently cleaned.  It’s kind of sad, actually, to see the graves that haven’t been attended to in a while.  I mean, you never know what the circumstances are--for all I know, the family line in Japan has died out or moved far away.  I did get a kick out the offering left for the black and gold grave (pics 6-7).  Tomo-san didn’t understand why I suddenly burst out laughing until she took a closer look and saw the Asahi left there.

On our way out, Tomo-san made a comment about the giant grave in the back left corner (pic 8).  I didn’t fully understand what she said, but it sounded something like that person overcompensating for something.  Lol!