Japan

Trains are a gigantic part of Japan's culture.  They have trains going practically everywhere and anywhere.  The size of the train depended on where it was going.  The big cities get the bullet trains and the small cities (towns) get the small fun trains.

The train to get us from Fukui to the dojo.  (The small train - 2 cars)

I love the signs.  All of them are so fun, really only because they are in a different language and I have no idea what it says.  Also, because all the words look like art.  I could say something like BEWARE TRAIN TRACKS AHEAD.  I would have no idea and it looks like art.  However the only thing that I know is that it talks about the train because at the bottom of the sign it says the letters JR which is the type of train/company that runs on that line.

This is there cemetaries.  They are all like this and very beautiful.  I think that they have someone that comes everyday that puts fresh flowers on every stone.  So different from our graveyards here in our country.

These pictures are from Fukui to the dojo.  Everyday we would wake up take the elevator down to the lobby of the hotel and have breakfast.  Each morning there would be a bowl of steamed rice, fish, egg, miso soup, seaweed, vegetables, and gluten.  It was always so much food that I could never ever finish it at all.  It was delicious though.  Then we would walk to the train station and usually linger at all the market shops looking at the bright colors, the food, the candy.  Everything was so wonderfully packaged and beautiful.  After lingering in the market for a little while we would make it up to the train (look at the second picture).  We would then make the train ride to the dojo.  We would walk about a mile from the train station to the dojo looking at all the sights (the above pictures).  It was a wonderful walk with the true beauty that God has created for us.  We would then drum with our hearts content.  By the time that we got done with drumming and getting back to Fukui we would grab something to eat and then instantly we would go to bed because we were so exhausted.  It was a wonderful week and full of amazing sights.