Neighborhood Hiraka

 This first picture is of a river that runs straight through parts of Hiraka City and appears in my neighborhood. I am not sure on the purpose, but I assume that it protects people during rainy season or typhoon season when water levels may pose a threat to the neighbor hoods and city areas.  I also think it serves as some kind of drainage for house water, but not polluted water.

I really like this river though because it is peaceful with lots of wild life. People can easily access it at some sections with stairs to walk their dog, throw their kid into the water, or to sit on the edge and relax. It is clean and enjoyable for everyone. Some parts are not pretty, but river represents city life: flowing peacefully yet always busy with work, school, or izakaya.

The spider's picture was taken at school. I think spider has a remote connection to the river because river contains many bugs, insects, toads, and other wild critters. I am not even sure where the spider came from. The point of the spider is that Japanese people don't harm bugs out of fear. Japanese people seem to gaze at them endlessly and work around them. When I ride to school through Hirakata, sometimes Japanese people are staring at spiders living in the branches of trees. "It's just a spider," I want to say to them in Japanese, but I think that they appreciate it like the river because it can protect them from other bugs, and like the river, protect them when it floods. It is hard to say what the Japanese mind thinks about.

First Impressions of Japan

My first impressions of Japan are old. This is my fourth time here, but these newest pictures, really represent what I saw the first time. First time I came to Japan; I was really amazed at everything that I saw because it was a brand new world. Analyzing is something that I did/do ever time in Japan because I can't seem to take in everything. The first picture is a view from the YCAT transit bus from Nartia Airport too Yokohama Station. It takes a while on the bus to reach Yokohama(90mins), but it's worth it because it passes by so many sites. This is the site of Yokohama Landmark Tower plaza, Queen's Square, and huge building called Pacifico (some huge convention center.) Landmark tower is one of the tallest buildings in Japan!

I have been to this site many times. From an Anthropologist view, it can be seen in many pictures and videos, but only way to experience these monster buildings is by going there. It represents a busy and peaceful Japan because it is busy during the day and peaceful at night when all the office workers head home. And where this city is located on a huge port, it is also a historic port trading facility.

I do want to visit here again at some point because I have yet to go up in Landmark Tower to take photos and experience the top observation deck. The place I have been to dozens of time, I have yet to experience the top of Yokohama City. This part of the city is only one part of the second largest city in Japan, so it cannot fully capture Yokohama, but it seems to leave an impression on everyone who goes there or knows of Yokohama. One cannot think of Yokohama without thinking of these building, towers, and ports.