Greetings from Yokosuka, Japan.
I left the Midwest on Tuesday, September 15, 2009 and landed in Seattle to spend a day with my sister who was visiting her boyfriend’s family. I had fun meeting the family (I’m the first of my sister’s family to meet the guy or his family so bragging rights. :P ) and trying to get a good picture of the Space Needle. Oddly, even though they’ve lived less than an hour from the city much of their lives, that was the only tourist thing they could think of. What else is there out there, non-natural. They did suggest hiking Mount Ranier and I saw Puget Sound. Although the hike would’ve been fun, I didn’t have enough time to hike and get to the plane. Boo but I saw the Space Needle. (and sadly, this is the best pic of me and the Needle. Don't worry, I have better ones I'm not in.)
I got to the airport hours before we left but right when they told me. (Boo on international flights) and we left at 3 am the 17th and I slept the first two hours til we landed to refuel in Alaska. From there I slept on and off for a few hours until we were over the Arctic and the turbulence kept me awake. I didn’t mind, though, because I had a widow seat and got to see the glaciers and watch the sun come up. I remember looking down at the endless mounds of snow and thinking I’d describe it as endless hills of white occasionally broken by winding rivers, threads of an ocean that refused to be conquered. I wish I’d had my camera accessible so I could show you just how gorgeous it was to watch the rays of pink and faint purple followed by bright yellow chase the dark purple from the soft, faint clouds above the endless mounds of white. It’s a view I’ll always treasure and I wish I hadn’t put my camera in a bin that would’ve meant waking up too many people to get into it.
Anyway, I landed in Japan a little before 6 am and was at the airport for hours. We finally got on the bus destined for my new home and it left about 8 am for a three hour ride, mostly through towns that were very space efficient. I remember my first impression of Japan from the air was the incredible difference between the US and this tiny island. The US is so spread out from above. True, it’s often a patchwork of varying greens or obvious wild lands but Japan is a study of precise land use. The only land not used is too steep or rocky to be any good for farming, the rest is put to use and very efficient. As I flew over head the land was a patchwork quilt with small pieces, each acre appearing a different color or many colors, and the cities reminded me of my childhood times playing with legos. The houses were every different color imaginable and appeared built with no space between them. When I rode through the towns, I realized the best yard most houses could dream of were the potted plants lining the street. Businesses were lucky to have a walking space between the next building and houses could’ve been built onto each other for all the space between them that there was.
Another thing I quickly noticed is that machine dryers are apparently unheard of around here. Every porch or patio I saw had at least one clothesline full of clothes drying in the wind. Usually there were three lines hung diagonal from each other and at about waist height so they were mostly hidden by the railings. Apparently people don’t want to be able to look up from the street and see other people’s drying laundry. I also had the impression of how cheerful Japan appears to be. Every banner is a bright, cheery color and buildings are pastel shades. Where the States prefer bold, simple colors, the Japanese obviously prefer softer, cheerier colors and images. In fact, I’d forgotten how childish the Japanese animation was and was surprised to see that only about ten percent of the images on buildings were realistic looking. In America we like a cat to look like a cat to show the store is a pet store. In Japan they prefer a child’s happy rendition waving at everyone with soft lines, not realistic colors and lines. Makes me wonder if that’s how they prefer to view things, at least in public: soft and gentle, not looking at the real emotions or meanings as long as everyone seems happy. Interesting thought.
Anyways, sorry that I don’t have pictures yet. I plan to get pictures tomorrow when I finally go exploring the city. I’ve slept so much these past few days that I barely know my way around the place I’m living.
Well, as a funny little bunny often says: “That’s all, folks.” Stick around for more adventures and I’ll try not to disappoint.
I left the Midwest on Tuesday, September 15, 2009 and landed in Seattle to spend a day with my sister who was visiting her boyfriend’s family. I had fun meeting the family (I’m the first of my sister’s family to meet the guy or his family so bragging rights. :P ) and trying to get a good picture of the Space Needle. Oddly, even though they’ve lived less than an hour from the city much of their lives, that was the only tourist thing they could think of. What else is there out there, non-natural. They did suggest hiking Mount Ranier and I saw Puget Sound. Although the hike would’ve been fun, I didn’t have enough time to hike and get to the plane. Boo but I saw the Space Needle. (and sadly, this is the best pic of me and the Needle. Don't worry, I have better ones I'm not in.)
I got to the airport hours before we left but right when they told me. (Boo on international flights) and we left at 3 am the 17th and I slept the first two hours til we landed to refuel in Alaska. From there I slept on and off for a few hours until we were over the Arctic and the turbulence kept me awake. I didn’t mind, though, because I had a widow seat and got to see the glaciers and watch the sun come up. I remember looking down at the endless mounds of snow and thinking I’d describe it as endless hills of white occasionally broken by winding rivers, threads of an ocean that refused to be conquered. I wish I’d had my camera accessible so I could show you just how gorgeous it was to watch the rays of pink and faint purple followed by bright yellow chase the dark purple from the soft, faint clouds above the endless mounds of white. It’s a view I’ll always treasure and I wish I hadn’t put my camera in a bin that would’ve meant waking up too many people to get into it.
Anyway, I landed in Japan a little before 6 am and was at the airport for hours. We finally got on the bus destined for my new home and it left about 8 am for a three hour ride, mostly through towns that were very space efficient. I remember my first impression of Japan from the air was the incredible difference between the US and this tiny island. The US is so spread out from above. True, it’s often a patchwork of varying greens or obvious wild lands but Japan is a study of precise land use. The only land not used is too steep or rocky to be any good for farming, the rest is put to use and very efficient. As I flew over head the land was a patchwork quilt with small pieces, each acre appearing a different color or many colors, and the cities reminded me of my childhood times playing with legos. The houses were every different color imaginable and appeared built with no space between them. When I rode through the towns, I realized the best yard most houses could dream of were the potted plants lining the street. Businesses were lucky to have a walking space between the next building and houses could’ve been built onto each other for all the space between them that there was.
Another thing I quickly noticed is that machine dryers are apparently unheard of around here. Every porch or patio I saw had at least one clothesline full of clothes drying in the wind. Usually there were three lines hung diagonal from each other and at about waist height so they were mostly hidden by the railings. Apparently people don’t want to be able to look up from the street and see other people’s drying laundry. I also had the impression of how cheerful Japan appears to be. Every banner is a bright, cheery color and buildings are pastel shades. Where the States prefer bold, simple colors, the Japanese obviously prefer softer, cheerier colors and images. In fact, I’d forgotten how childish the Japanese animation was and was surprised to see that only about ten percent of the images on buildings were realistic looking. In America we like a cat to look like a cat to show the store is a pet store. In Japan they prefer a child’s happy rendition waving at everyone with soft lines, not realistic colors and lines. Makes me wonder if that’s how they prefer to view things, at least in public: soft and gentle, not looking at the real emotions or meanings as long as everyone seems happy. Interesting thought.
Anyways, sorry that I don’t have pictures yet. I plan to get pictures tomorrow when I finally go exploring the city. I’ve slept so much these past few days that I barely know my way around the place I’m living.
Well, as a funny little bunny often says: “That’s all, folks.” Stick around for more adventures and I’ll try not to disappoint.
This is Li'l B, and I'm signing out.
Aunt Peek-o is enjoying your graphic descriptions, B. Sometimes do you think your brain is on overload with so much so different and new to assimilate? Your cousins, Andy and Naomi, each had a chance to experience parts of Japan, too, some years back. Keep up the word work!
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