An Urban Jungle?

Having only recently returned from a year abroad in Japan, I'd like to use this blog to communicate my experiences and opinions about the country, as well as dispel some common myths that gaijin (foreigners) tend to have. I don't claim to be some sort of expert who has dedicated their life to the study of everything Japanese, but compared to your average person on the street, I like to think I have some perspective.

Japan. Most people tend to picture the extremes: samurai and geisha in their kimono scurrying about the muddy streets, or high-tech robots, neon lights, and sardine-can trains. While nowadays the tendency is definitely toward the latter vision, it's true that one can find a little bit of both, often even without looking too hard. Honestly, the diversity is staggering. The sheer number of people concentrated in Japan's cities makes for an interesting clash of visions and ideas, but the question that comes to mind, especially to Americans is this: how can they stand living so close together? Well, the thing is, gaijin do tend to picture Japan as an urban landscape, but this is only a part of the truth. The fact of the matter is, a large portion of Japan's roughly California-sized landmass is mountains, which makes sprawling out quite difficult. The result is a country where the majority of it's 120,000,000+ population is forced to live in an urban center of some sort.

Loud, yes, but there is never a dull moment.