View from Aqa Hotel, Nagano, Japan

View from Aqa Hotel, Nagano, Japan
Originally uploaded by crufty

So I'm back from Japan! And I love it!

In Japan, humanity coexists with Nature in harmony. Everyone is extremely mindful of the impact of their actions on the environment. I've been to a lot of developed countries where the government pays lip service to eco-friendly initiatives, but Japan in my mind is far ahead of everyone. I didn't even go specifically for sightseeing but the panoramic views took my breath away. I'm equally impressed by Nature's majesty as well as human ingenuity; from the humbling peaks of faraway mountains to the massive bridges spanning large expanses of water... it is in a word, magical.

Japanese people are extremely polite and disciplined. They have a very powerful work ethic, even so-called menial tasks such as arranging travel brochures do not escape their attention to detail.

By extension the country is astonishingly clean. Temples in Asia are notoriously dusty affairs but those that I've seen in Japan are polar opposites. There is no dust under the eaves. There are no cobwebs in forgotten corners. It's so mind-blowingly amazing it has to be seen to be believed. Yet for its cleanliness, some people still spit on the streets to clear their nasal passages and everything still goes on with nary a raised eyebrow! It's exactly this sort of juxtaposed incongruity that has me bewildered.

Tokyo residents generally are over-dressed. The weather was perfect, in the low 20s, yet everyone has a jacket on. Except for the crazy schoolgirls with their impossibly short skirts. Don't ask me how they keep their rear ends warm in the height of winter. I seriously have no clue.

Japanese love white cars. And big Mercedes-Benzes, like the S500 or the E55. Oh and the MkIV Supra and the Mazda RX-7, pretty amazing considering that these cars have been out of production for many years. Tons of them. Evos aren't very popular there. I've seen at most 10 cars, of the various generations. The Subaru Impreza doesn't fare significantly better, most are in the rally blue but I did catch sight of an S204. Porsche seems to be doing very well. Saw 2 Ferrari F430, a 360 Challenge Stradale and a handful of Lamborghinis. Just one yellow Corvette C6 Z06.

OK I'll stop for now. Maybe more in the next entry. In the meantime the photo collection is up, and I'll be adding comments and descriptions as I get more time.