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    Visiting the country of my birth: Japan

    Photos from Japan

    There are [5] photos from Japan

    As our trip took place towards the end of winter, we were able to see some plum blossoms blooming as spring was commencing. This is cause for celebration indeed after the long cold months that the Japanese had just been through. The brightness of the pink provides a welcome contrast with the bleak winter landscape and the sharp angles of the leafless tree. Views[192] Walking across a bridge of a stream from the lake gave us an excellent view of three swans that swam past underneath us. Just as I was walking away, I noticed the brilliant reflection of the sun right on the surface of the water where one of the swans was resuming its nap. The radiant light captured the purity of such an elegant creature as this. Views[213] I spotted these fishermen sitting together with their rods at this little stream exiting the lake. As Caucasian foreigners such as my brother and myself are still rather unusual in Japan, particularly in smaller neighbourhood areas such as these, one of them looked up at us, chuckled and pointed us out to his friends. One can only guess what his remark was, but it could have been along the lines of, “Eh? Gaigen!” (the Japanese word for foreigner). Their bicycles were all casually left on the side of the road, clearly showing their means of travel and the locality of their homes. Views[158] It used to be one of the most polluted lakes in Japan, but has since been cleaned by a sophisticated system, the name of which lies in the kanji (Chinese characters) behind the lady’s head. She is walking her dog, rugged up in an insulated jacket typical of those worn by the Japanese in winter, and is wearing a facemask. This is worn either as a courtesy to others when sick, or as a preventative measure of avoiding catching illnesses, particularly in the winter months. Views[283] Lake Teganuma, located in the Chiba Prefecture near Tokyo, is a popular walking, fishing, running and general recreation spot for the Japanese that live nearby. This lake is situated very close to the first house that I lived in with my Australian mother and American father in Abiko. Cold, bleak and rather serene, I visited this place when winter was nearing its end. A Japanese family friend that my brother and I were staying with in a house nearby took us for a walk there. Views[589]
     

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