Big in Japan

Still posting a few photos from the Japan trip this past summer... here are some random photos, mostly of things that are big (or not) in Japan.

One thing that is big is the new Tokyo Sky Tree. For years Tokyo's television broadcast needs have been served by Tokyo Tower, an Eiffel Tower style building. When it was built in 1958, it's 1100-foot height was sufficient, but there are so many tall buildings in Tokyo now that the coverage isn't good enough. So, the new Sky Tree will be almost twice as tall. It is located near Yumiko's mom's house, maybe a 10-minute bike ride away. It's still under construction -- this is just over half of what it will be when completed -- and it's already the tallest artificial structure in Japan, having surpassed Tokyo Tower. When completed, it will be the second tallest man-made structure on the planet.



Something that isn't big is the typical Japanese street. Here are a few photos.

This is the main street in front of a train station in Yokosuka.



Here is a street near Yumiko's mom's house. As you can tell from the parked cars, this is a street used for automobile traffic, despite being not much wider than some sidewalks in Boise.



Here's another. This one isn't wide enough to turn a bicycle around without dismounting. Long-legged folk can probably stand with one foot touching a gutter on either side of the street.



This one is a bit wider, but if feels more claustrophobic due to the closeness and height of the buildings on either side.



Here's another typical neighborhood street.



And finally, Yumiko's mom's street. Which is not one-way, by the way -- it's a lot of fun to watch cars pass each other on this road. Or see garbage trucks and delivery trucks drive down it. It doesn't seem physically possible, but it happens anyway.



Big in Japan? Crowds. This is actually a fairly uncrowded day at Nakamise, the street leading to the Asakusa Shrine. It may look crowded, but trust me, this is maybe one-third of capacity.



Small? Parks. Here is a park near the church building in Koiwa. That's all, folks.



Big? Gardens. Big as in popular, not big as in size, though this house has a yard that qualifies as both. I assume this land must have been in the family for a couple of generations, and they're well enough off that they haven't had to sell off the extra land. Even if their gardens are tiny, they take very good care of them, and they are always well manicured and aesthetically pleasing. How long do you think it takes to trim all those trees???



Here is a more typical "yard". This is the space between Yumiko's mom's house and the house next door. You can just squeeze between them if you're skinny and work at it a bit.



This is the other side of the house. The rain gutter on the right is Yumiko's mom's house, and it is half overlapped by the neighbor's rain gutter. Yes, the spacing between the houses is actually negative.



I'm not sure if this counts for big or not, but here's a typical cemetery. Each of the stones you see is for an extended family.



They were building a new house around the corner from Yumiko's mom. Here's what the construction looks like just past the foundation stage. They build a framework of (approx.) 4x4" board on top of the concrete foundation.



A few days later, the frame of the house was in place, and they were putting on the roof. They always finish the roof as soon as possible to protect the rest of the building from rain. The helmet gives a sense of scale -- the house is maybe 12 feet wide.



Big (popular): Bad English. I'm not quite sure what this sign is trying to say, other than the general point of "don't park here!"



Big: satellite TV. There are just a few antennae on this roof.



Big: Internet cafes, for those who don't have Internet at home. This is where we went to check e-mail etc. In addition to computers, they also had a humongous comic book collection (as well as other skankier literature). I think they also had DVDs for rent, free coffee, and other amenities, but I didn't pay much attention to the rest of the place.



We were there during obon, a holiday that is kind of sort of like memorial day. People put out these fancy special alters in memory of the deceased. These decorations are out for about a week.



Here's a cool skinny apartment building -- seven stories tall, and maybe 12 feet wide. Most of the occupants also subscribe to satellite TV.



Here's a big river winding through some unusually flat farmland near the Narita International Airport.



And finally, the biggest mountain in Japan, Mt. Fuji, as seen from the air on the way back from Guam. This photo was taken from about 100 miles away. I saw Fuji twice on this trip -- from the air, as seen below, and from a train near Yokohama, at a range of about 60 miles. Yes, Fuji-san qualifies as Big in Japan.