5299 words

Thanks to Chris and Apis for being host to a very relaxing and enjoyable few days. It was interesting to see a part of the Japan outside of the Tokyo area. Yokkaichi is a city of 300,000 people--tiny by Japanese standards, I suppose.

Kate's pretty much covered the trip already. I'll just add that I found it very refreshing to geek out for a few days.

Seeing as we've just developed a roll of film, I thought I'd delve a little into the photo backlog.

First, from the freaky Japan files:

1. The aforementioned Skinhead shop, positioned in one of the busiest pedestrian walkways in Shibuya:



2. The kimochiwarui podpeople on display in a clothing store in Shinjuku (the one on the right it is the creepiest):



3. On the train, headless housewives hawking "the new black circle", whatever the heck that is:



Next, a picture that has a story attached. We were in Shibuya, at my favorite intersection, when an ambulance started driving up... and toward the station entrance. Apparently someone needed immediate medical attention in the station, but between the street and the station was a crowd of several hundred people, which promptly parted (Red Sea-like) before the ambulance, and then swallowed it up as soon as it was past. It was a bit surreal. Unfortunately it took us too long to come to our senses and get the camera up. Here's a photo of the aftermath; the ambulance is visible (barely) in the middle of a sea of people, in the very center of the picture, between the heads of two of the people in the foreground. If nothing else, it's a taste of how busy Shibuya is:



And last, here's one from the warm and fuzzy files:



That would be my Grandma in Japan.