My residency (and subsequent travel) time in Japan is coming to an end. I’m currently on a plane from Fukuoka to Tokyo, and then en-route to Seattle. (Update- I’m now at home in Moscow, Idaho). It’s been a month and a half in this lovely country, and I’ll miss it. Some random thoughts…

I’d like to do a study on the ecological impacts of Shinto temples. Beautiful green spaces and outposts of peace in the most urban settings.

The transition from utterly urban (towering skyscrapers, neon, pachinko parlors) to the back end of beyond (one lane roads, impenetrable mountain forests, a paucity of humanity) takes place with astonishing swiftness. There were so many places where I expected Yubaba’s bathhouse to appear out of the mists.

Rural Japan is definitely and surprisingly a cash-driven economy. Even some of the supermarkets wanted yen.

Water, water everywhere. Small, moss-covered canals winding through yards. Sluice-gates leading to fields leading to waterfalls. Sometimes the water is boiling hot. Sometimes it croaks with a thousand frogs.

I’m sure that there is a dark side to Japan (like any country) and I caught a few echoes of it- both in Tokyo and in rural areas. As one example, everything you buy or eat comes swathed in plastic, and the beaches are dotted with hydrocarbon polymer skeletons. There are social ills as well. (The plastic doesn’t show in the photo- I realize that I’m as guilty as anyone in selectively editing reality).