[davidw]

Very interesting. From where I was stationed, immediately off base there were scores of bars with Karaoke machines (kind of like some places in the Philippines I've been to), but once you move past all the bars, you see the real Japan (cities, country-city, and country). I say country-city because a lot of it is non-stop buildings/houses/etc. I miss visiting the shops there or the eateries. They also have nice malls and movie theaters.

One of my favorite things to do there was play laser-tag (I guess this is a big deal in Japan). If you had all day or so to spend, take a bullet train to - wherever?. One thing I really liked was that they liked their music - and American music too. A common sight to see was the school children (uniforms or uniforms with skirts). I must have been near a school.

The weather was hot, cold, and rainy a lot. It got pretty warm when I was there. We also had a nasty typhoon hit us directly on - then went on to Tokyo. Earthquakes and Tsunamis were frequent (mostly warnings with the Tsunamis) I remember once sitting in my barber chair and an earthquake hit and I started doing 360s lol.

Japan was a blast. One day I plan to go back to climb Mt. Fuji. If I ever get them scanned, I may post some pictures later on.