Snapshots of Japan...

It snowed today! I was a little confused, though, because it was so sunny when I woke up--but when I looked out the door, I could see the snow on the rooftops, making the reflected sun even brighter. The sun is slipping behind the clouds now, though. I wonder if the snow will stick around. I kind of hope it does. It's nice to make cookies while there's snow outside! It's a cozy feeling.

Today I thought I would just post up some random pictures of Japan, so you guys back at home could get a good idea of what I've been up to. I've been feeling a little homesick lately, so it makes me feel a little closer to all of you back home.

So without further ado, some of my favorite pictures from Japan so far.

A few weeks--a month or so ago, perhaps?--I went to Tokyo to visit some friends and do some sightseeing in good old "civilization." I also decided to go see one famous garden I'd never gotten around to seeing before. It is called Hamatsu Rikyu garden. It's beautiful and peaceful, but it is also surrounded by some serious high-rise development. The buildings are seriously futuristic looking--they seem to define the stereotypical view of Tokyo. I really like the contrast that you can see here.


A beautiful day in Tokyo... who says the pollution makes everything dreary? Lies, I tell you.


Another view...

A few weeks ago, I went to Tokyo with my friend. Her name is Breanne, and she's really cool. She's a second year ALT, and she's really been a life-saver. Things would have been so much worse without someone to hang out with. She's a Canadian, and super-stylish!



Also some time ago, I went with some friends--and particularly my friend Laura, who is another ALT in a nearby village--to this place called Oze. It is a rather famous national park in Gunma, particularly known for its marshes. It was a beautiful day, if a bit cold. The park is very well-protected, so you are not allowed to drive into it, for fear of too much pollution. Instead, you have to take a special bus that runs on electricity or some such, and is specially adapted for delicate habitats.



There was some really beautiful autumn foliage just starting up at the time. Basically, you start at the top and have to walk down into the marshes. It was a little tough going back up, but basically it was an easy climb both ways. Although it was beautiful, it was very domesticated--nicely kept up paths, and old ladies and young kids doing the hike.



Once you got to the bottom, you could walk out over the marsh. The entire thing was honeycombed with paths made of planks. The marsh itself was really quite beautiful, but strange. In the spring, Oze is famous for the skunk cabbages, which have a much more poetic and beautiful name in Japanese. Apparently, they have really beautiful blossoms. (That's Laura and another friend, Harmony.)



There were little ponds in among the long grasses, filled with lily pads, and, once you looked closer, tadpoles and salamanders. The sky was brilliantly blue, and reflected in all the strangely shaped ponds.

Numata can be really beautiful sometimes. It can also be very ugly. I've tried to take pictures that capture the beauty I've seen here. When I'm feeling down about all the powerlines and ugly grey buildings, it's good to remember that.


A few weeks ago, we were getting some really stunning sunsets and cloud formations. This was one of them... you can still see the powerlines, but just look at that sky!


It's autumn here now, beginning to turn into real, proper winter. But just a few weeks ago, I managed to get this picture before the final leaves fell. It's the slope a few minutes walk away from my house, which leads down the Numata train station. For a few short days, right before they fell, the leaves all turned absolutely stunning colors. I managed to get a good shot.


Numata is surrounded by mountains, and it is winter now. There is snow on the distant mountains--they're far, but still closer than they were back home in Oregon. From Numata park, you can get some really stunning views, but even from my school the view is amazing. Unfortunately, my apartment faces the wrong way--I don't get to see this view all the time--but it's gorgeous, nonetheless.


This is a Christian church of some description in Numata, a few blocks from my house. Isn't it bizarre? It's made of concrete, virtually undecorated. It's not even "severe," which conjures up images of Gothic cathedrals--it's just plain, brutal, raw. So ugly that it almost approaches beauty against the blue sky.


A few days ago I went to a Christmas enkai up at Lake Haruna. We had a traditional style Japanese dinner, that night. There was a great deal of raw fish, sushi, eel, random things made of fish paste, etc. but there was also a basket full of tiny potatoes. Each one was about the size of a fingernail, and they were purple inside. Unfortunately the picture is too blurry to see it clearly, but they looked exactly like normal potatoes. They even had tiny, miniature "eye" dimples, like a normal potato. They tasted like normal potatoes too, but with a strange aftertaste. I have no idea what was going on there.

And here's a picture of me! Thought you might like to see your daughter...


I'm at a place called Fukiwara Falls. It's very beautiful, and quite famous. It's a very strange set of waterfalls. They are not steep at all, but they flow over smooth, solid rock, no doubt worn down by thousands of years, and it looks very strange. It's hard to describe, but here's another picture!


It was a nice trip.

Well, that's all for now! I actually feel a bit better now.