Saturday, October 10, 2015

My new wheel cover - Beware of the Higuma!

I've been thinking about getting a spare wheel cover but haven't found any that I liked.
That was until I found this little gem at amazon.co.uk.
At first I just thought it looked real cool but it got even better as I zoomed in on the writing, that sealed the deal. There's no way I could resist something that quirky and at £12.99 it was a bargain!
Here's what it says:


HIGUMA is the most fierce wild animal in H KKAID
HIGUMA?? H KKAID???

And then it says:
It usually inhabits in the mountain but sometimes goes down to country side for food before and after hibermation (?) when you make a sound such as a bell.it rung swsy (??) Unless you don't run into it it will do no harm to you.

And then there's the logo that says:
NORTHI LAND, Product Institute Compass
Product Institute Compass? Sounds a bit like Rock-Paper-Scissors to me.



I was pretty sure that it was just a fake graphic done to look cool on a Jeep. Like the ones that say stuff like "Ultra Extreme 4x4 Expedition Mega Power 2000". But as I started to google the word "Higuma" then I suddenly found out that it's real! Obviously there's a lot lost in translation but the Higuma appears to be a brown bear that lives in the Shiretoko National Park in northern Japan.


So they make all kinds of signs, stickers and even coffee mugs to inform people about the possible dangers of messing with this bear. What a surprise! I thought is was all fake.
Here's some of the stickers they make.


See? The sticker to the right is the same as my wheel cover.
And that sticker solved some riddles. Like "H KKAID ." was meant to say "HOKKAIDO"- Where did those O's go? 
And "NORTHI LAND" was "NORTH ISLAND".
But my favorite pieces where the same on the sticker as it was on my cover, like "make a sound such as a bell.it rung swsy". My daughters bright husband figured that one out. It must have been meant to say "make a sound, such as a bell, and it runs away".

So, if any of you guys are planning a trip to Shiretoko, please bring a bell, or at least try to sound like one. Promise?


5 comments:

  1. That´s a beautiful 4x4!! I have a Daihatsu Taft 1980 in Chile and I love him!!

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  2. Hola Juanjo!
    Thanks for your comment.
    Cool to hear that there are Taft´s in Chile too.
    All the best from Sweden!

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  3. This is mine with a willys fiberglass body https://goo.gl/photos/UwQCdVpFppo2rwgm9

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  4. Hello Ian!
    Thanks for sharing. Looks really cool :-)

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  5. G'day mate! Enjoying the blog - just gave my cousin some socks with Higuma paw print on their sole

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