So much of what I saw was incomprensible and wacky, especially since I could neither read nor speak the languge very well. Here, a shrine for a plastic horse on Miyajima. Don't ask me...

The bustling city of Miyajima-Ku was just a little too crowded for my tastes. I had to get away from this madness. :)

In contrast, this was a typical scene in Osaka. Not "rush hour" mind you, but exactly like this 18 hours a day. It was constant.

A small, one car train went from Hagi, on the Sea of Japan, to Ogori on the Pacific side of Japan. Following narrow picturesque streams and lush canyons filled with tiny villages and rice fields the train went up and over the mountains on a fascinating and far too short, four hour journey.

It was beautiful. I will do this again someday.

The tiny one-car train was lightly filled with local farmers and school kids going from village to village, all of them trying their very best to act as though there wasn't a big goofy-looking foreigner on the train too. But while I would be staring out the window I could see in the reflection that they would all turn and stare at me, but quickly turn away when I would turn around.

Here, a couple of the school kids are displaying the charming national tactic of looking as if they were asleep - head bowed over, eyes half-closed - but in the window reflection, they would be wide awake, whispering and giggling with their friends. I witnessed this tactic everywhere I went.

It was a hoot!

I could kick myself for not getting a picture of the weekday morning train to work. It was usually packed so darn tight, that attendants on the platform would actually have to shove people in to get the doors to close. This photo was taken on a Saturday - a non work day - so the train is lightly packed. On the normal week days, we were packed in so tight, I couldn't bring myself to even attempt to get a picture, as there was no room to maneuver at all. Besides, you'd only see heads and/or butts, depending on whether I was sitting or standing.

Although the trains are very crowded, the Japanese are so well-mannered that it is very comfortable to travel this way. No yelling, no shoving, no "bad vibes", spotless trains, everyone very well dressed, etc. Politeness rules...

The trails through the mountains of Nara were a delightful respite from the heat of the day. Still the humidity made it feel like I was swimming through thick air.

I got waylaid by a bunch of of timid school kids from the rural Chiba Prefecture on a school trip to Nara. They are forced by their English teachers to find a foreigner in this famous city of the ancient Imperial government, where they must practice asking the Gaijin questions (note the questions in the girls hand) in halting English and then try their best to understand.

Knowing that I was probably the first English-speaking foreigner they had ever really seen in person, much less talked to, it was hilarious to give them completely odd and funny answers with a straight and serious face, and then watch their faces light up as it dawned on them that I was pulling their legs. Laughter put us all at ease.

We'd been conversing for about 30 minutes when this picture was taken by their teacher, and they are FAR more relaxed by now then when we started. Sweet kids, all of them.

Oh, and the temperature here was in the high 90's with 100% humidity. Note my soaked shirt and pants. I can't believe I'm still standing. Didn't seem to bother the kids at all!

In the mountains of Nagano, the temple of Zenkoji provided a magnificent respite from the humidity of the coast. The large brass urn burned the most fragrant incense I'd come across. After washing my head in the smoke like the locals did, the whole world smelled sweet for the rest of the day.

Tsutenkaku, the "Eiffel Tower" of Osaka, near Tennoji-Koen sprouted up out of a thick warren of twisting streets. I used it as a navigation aid whenever I was in the area, usually weekend nights, scouting out new places to eat. I never failed to find a perfect little place - often filled with a crowd of locals surprised to find a Gaijin in their midsts - serving strange and unknown dishes. But the food was always delicious, whatever it was. :).

Back