Sakae & Kamimaezu

I hadn't had a chance to see the popular districts yet, so on Saturday I went with my host sister Hana to Sakae. She doesn't have much experience going to different places, so I was the one leading us around. I felt sorry for her walking so much, but my host mother wanted her to come in case I got lost or had a problem. I'm quickly showing my host family that I'm capable at navigating around by myself and I've already learned the areas I've been to better than they have. Feels good, man!

Just coming out of Sakae station. While Nagoya is a smaller city than Tokyo, it is still one of the biggest in Japan, and its popular districts are quite busy. However, it has a more open feeling and you can see the sky. In Tokyo the sky comes in narrow bands between tall buildings. Nagoya is more spread out.

Traffic makes it difficult to get anywhere in any amount of time. I suspect bike would be an ideal mode of transport.

An apartment with flowers.

I was just picking roads to wander down by whatever direction looked most interesting, so we ended up in a different district called Osu, where this temple lay.

A peaceful Japanese street in a small suburb.

Trees in a park.

A neighborhood lake, possibly man-made.

A small patch of dry grass, though it seems like a prairie from this angle.

Clouds rolling in to Kamimaezu! On Sunday, my friend Brian, a Canadian living and teaching English in Nagoya, was kind enough to show me around the covered shopping streets and help me buy a camera cable. Now I can upload my photos!

A section of covered market, crowded with people and clothing shops.