Walk On

It was another unseasonably spectacular day here today. I woke up with anticipation about watching the Patriots/Jets game this morning, but after watching the Pats floundering on the wrong side of a beat down for two quarters, I decided there were better ways for me to spend my time. Japan doesn't celebrate daylight savings, but the days are still quite short here and you'd better get your outdoor activities finished up before 5:30 or so. With that in mind, Chieko and I left the Patriots behind and took a good hour long stroll out through the rice paddies.





Since the mountains are pretty much covered with bamboo and cedar, the foliage isn't very spectacular around these parts. There are some pockets of maple and other foliage bearing trees (?????) that I don't know the names of that do provide some sporadic color though. We're past the peak but they still look kind of nice.



One of the things that I'm still trying to come to terms with here in Japan is the fact that all of the power lines here are above ground. Every where you go, giant power line towers area fixture of not just the horizon, but often central parts of neighborhoods. I generally have learned to not consciously see these hideous things, but once in a while I'm struck. In the cities, where nature is completely overrun anyway, the towers blend in with all the other concrete and metal. But once you get a little outside of the metropolitan centers, the contrast between the towers and the natural environment becomes harder to ignore.



Even still, I can rationalize all the power lines smack dab in the middle of neighborhoods, mutating fetuses and making dogs bark incessantly; people need electricity. But then I look on top of mountains in some of the most pristine parts of Japan and what do I see? Monkeys, and power lines. I've wondered, both aloud and to myself, why Japan hasn't buried at least some of these power lines. The mountainous terrain is a likely culprit until you see how many tunnels through mountains this country has. The other factor could be earthquakes i suppose, and the potential for underground stuff to be harder to access and fix with a bunch of collapsed houses on top of it (as opposed to it being on top of all the collapsed houses).

In the end though it comes down to the simple fact that Japan is small and crowded, and because of that there just seems to be higher concentrations of everything here; be it power lines or people with horrible skin problems. In reality the percentages are probably pretty normal, but since everyone and everything is so relatively packed together, it just seems like there is more of it all.

Getting a bit rambly here, I know. Here's a picture of some nice (albeit not very huge or pristine) mountains near here, with big giant power line towers on top of them.



And lastly, it's persimmon season here, and Japan is swimming with them. Hang'em high, then eat'em.



The highlight of this weekend will not doubt be our neighborhood bowling tournament. I'm not quite sure what to expect but hopefully I will kick ass and we'll meet some new people and become friends with them. Hope everyone has a good weekend.