Here's my second entry with photos from Japan. The first excellent set was taken by my friend Mihoko-san. I've tried to choose slightly different ones to give a wider picture.

I loved Japan. It is hard to capture in pictures. It was the place that was the most different from America, with a completely different set of assumptions. Imagine being the only person with blonde/brown hair (not counting dyed) for days. Or a place where the major ethnic minority, treated much like illegal Mexican immigrants in this country, looks to the untrained US eye exactly like the natives. (It is the Koreans. And they have slightly rounder, flatter faces generally compared to the Japanese. Closer to Chinese, you see. This difference is obvious to a Japanese person.)

During my stay my brain began to adopt the standards of this new culture. One day on the train I was sitting down and noticed a Japanese woman standing across from me. She was wearing very high heels and seemed incredibly tall from my seated position. She certainly stood out amongst her fellow train passengers. I just couldn't get over how tall she was - until I stood up. Then I realized that in my sneakers I was a good inch or two taller. How odd I must have looked to the Japanese.

But now I will try to convey some of my experience in Tokyo to you through pictures. Onward!

Tokyo was a study in contrasts, and my pictures reflect that. I mainly remember either the tranquility of a Shinto shrine or the noise and bustle of a busy downtown street, and not much in the middle. I did stay with Mihoko-san in outer Tokyo, in what would count as the suburbs (it was an hours train ride to the center after all). The houses were so close together, and the gardens so small and formal, that it didn't meet my "wide-street-big-yard" American definition of a suburb. But that's what it was. The Japanese are just much more efficient at using space. Here, I'll show you Mihoko-san's street, where i stayed during my time there:

Mihoko-san's Street

This next one I took because it reminded me of a similar statue in Edinburgh that I saw on the last major trip before this one. Both of them are statues of Loyal Dogs. The dog in Edinburgh followed his master's casket to the churchyard, and stayed there, fed by the monks, until the dog himself died. A local rich widow erected a statue of him to honor his loyalty. There is a similar story behind this statue. This dog had pattern of meeting his master at a certain time everyday at the train station. His master would always come home on a certain train, and they would walk home together. Well, one day his master had a heart attack at work and, sadly, passed away, so he didn't make it home on that train. The dog waited patiently for hours before giving up and going home. But the next day he went out to meet that same train, and did so every day till he died. He also got a statue for being such a Loyal Dog.

Loyal Dog

Ok, here's an example of a busy street in the bustling metropolis that is Tokyo. Mihoko-san couldn't understand why I wanted this picture, because it is really just an ally near the train station, but I loved it. It has the elevated walkways I remember, the narrow streets, and the bright signs. The vertical cylinders down the middle of the picture are futuristic light poles.

Busy Street

I just took this one because I thought it was so funny (and a little scary) that I could fit Starbucks, McDonalds and Levi's signs all in one frame. They are everywhere!

You Can't Escape!

Now we leave the noise and the bustle and enter the quiet respite of a shinto shrine. Here you can see my friend Mihoko-san with a Torii gate made I believe of ceder. The gate itself is huge, and you can see some of the temple buildings through it.

Torii Gate

Here's an even bigger torii gate, the biggest cedar one in all of Japan. Notice how the folks at the base of it are so tiny! I am standing a long ways back to get this picture.

Big Torii Gate

Here's a close-up of the decorative gold flower in the corner of the gate. You can see it in the previous picture. I just love the juxtaposition of sky, wood, gold and leaves.

Torii Gate Detail

this next picture is also at the shrine. If you think I'm showing tons from there, be gratefull I spared you the million more I have at the ready in my albums! It was just such a peaceful, contemplative place. We were there during the work week, so it wasn't as busy as it could have been. I enjoyed walking down the gravel paths a breathing in nature, all the while knowing that the full excitement of Tokyo stood just outside the gates. Occasionally it would even peek in. Here you can see a skyscraper from the open square at the shrine.

Old and New

Though the shrine was peaceful, there was still plenty going on. This next picture shows a wedding party and family arranged for a formal portrait. Mihoko-san and I each got this picture, from off to the side and with a long zoom. Note the bride in front in all her finery.

Formal Wedding Portrait

We actually saw two weddings while we were there This one was in the form of a processional making it's way over the square from one out building to another. If you look closely you'll see that the groom is caucasian, and the tall one a bit back in line may be his brother. The groom is dressed in traditional Japanese attire. The bride is in a traditional kimono, but I don't think white is the traditional color. Is that true Mihoko-san? So you see it is a nice blending of cultures. The shinto priests are leading them across the square to another building, where they will be blessed.

Wedding Processional

Mihoko-san surprised me by saying she had asked this young priest-in-training if he would stand next to me for a picture and he consented. He maintained his somber demeanor, of course. It would not have been fitting for a novitiate to smile.

Novitiate

Now my just about favorite picture - Mihoko-san's Family! They very graciously opened their home to me for over a week. From left to right we have Junko-san (Mihoko-san's sister), Joni (me), Mihoko-san (my friend from University) and Kamiko-san (her mom). We are flashing 2s, not peace signs. In Japan they sometimes say the number two like we in the US "say cheese" when a picture is taken. See, the number two in Japanese is Nii, pronounced "neee" so it makes you smile, just like "cheese" does. Isn't that a cool fact? Mihoko-san told me they also say cheese sometimes, which in Japanese is "chee-zu", so that works too. But that is more an imported word. When I met Mihoko-san she often held up two fingers in pictures and the rest of us in the apartment thought she was making a peace sign and couldn't figure out why, and we couldn't speak each other's languages well enough to make the question understood and clear up the matter. It's that differing assumptions thing again. So to harken back to old times I asked them to hold up a "2" please and they obliged me. Oh, and the "Tomato Soup" shirt I'm holding up is Mihoko-san's. They like to have English letters on clothes much as we in the US will tattoo on Chinese charaters, even though we don't reaslly know what they mean. Kinda cool how we are alike that way. The flowers are Junko-san's because she was leaving a job and they had a good-bye party for her. Mihoko-san's father was away on business.

Family

Finally, we have the family cat, Neow. Bonus points for everyone who got this far! Cats in Japan say "Neow", not "Meow", and this particular specimen is named after a cartoon cat by the same name. She is a sweet cat.

Neow

Thanks! I hope you enjoyed my Japan pictures!