Ah, beautiful Hokkaido! For all of my love of what bits of Japanese culture seep through their media, there are some things that still don't translate well. I was touring the Engrish website of Shiraoi this morning and thought I'd share my findings. I first arrived at the Specialties page - I can't imagine ordering "Boiled Hair Crab" outloud. On to more specialty foods: not content with simply counting cattle by heads, the Japanese count their chickens by wings, I guess to more closely match their value in ¥en. The handcrafts are nice; AAH! CARVED BEAR! There's a great picture of a Tanegashima on the Histrical Remains / Museum page - I did a term paper on the impact of the Tanegashima on the establishment of the Tokugawa Shogunate long ago. The festivals are, indeed, Vigorous as the picture would lead us to believe - that, or the participants use ancient, Ainu hallucinogens. I think the latter would explain the "persons curling" event. Finally, we delve into successional Ainu culture at the Ainu Museum. Fish boots.