Shibas in Japan

This is the entry where I post pictures of *real* shibas living in Japan. These aren't the only shibas that we saw, but they are the only ones that we managed to take pictures of.

We saw this shiba-ish dog at Kumano Jinja (a shrine), which is located in Shinjuku Central Park. It seemed like he lived there. He certainly wasn't too keen on having us skulking around.

Coincidentally, we saw this shiba just outside of Shiba Park. I actually ran down a crowded street chasing this poor woman, just so that I could get this crappy picture of her dog. Oh, and a Japanese colleague told me that Shiba Park has nothing to do with shiba inu. In this context, the word shiba means lawn. She said the written character is different than the one for shiba inu.

These three shibas were outside a store called Puppy* the World. I don't know why there's an asterisk after the word puppy, but there is.

Puppy* the World was kind of a strange place, and was actually two stores. One was just a dog boutique, but the other was a place where you could rent a room to bathe your dog, or you could RENT A DOG! I know these businesses are beginning to appear in the U.S. now, but ick, what a terrible idea. Poor dogs. Puppy* the World was located at a mall called Decks, in the Odaiba section of Tokyo.

This hardworking shiba-ish little lady was helping to advertise the Save Animals Love Animals (SALA) Network. I don't know if she was looking for a home, or if she belonged to one of the rescue workers, but we couldn't resist stopping to say hello.

Here is a sign for the SALA Network that contains a very shiba-ish looking face. Fair Warning: Their site contains some very sad pictures of shibas and other dogs, so you may not want to explore.

Since we're on the topic if animal rescue organizations, here's a sign for the Japan Rescue Association, which also had some shibas and akitas looking for homes.

Okay, time for some happier pictures...

This sweet little lady was out for a walk with her dad at the Senso-ji Temple (also known as Asakusa Kannon), located in the Asakusa section of Tokyo.

Her dad was nice enough to let us stop and say hello, so we were able to get a few pictures of this happy girl.

The shibas in Japan are so advanced that they even have their own post office and fire station. It's only a matter of time until it happens here.