Aaaah, that's better.

Nothing gets rid of those Been-in-Japan-too-long blues like getting lost in the countryside. Actually I wasn't driving and we weren't lost at all but taking shortcuts through the narrow, winding streets through semi-jungley foothills can definitely give one the illusion of being lost. These roads I speak of not only twist and turn but the entire street is only as wide as 3/4 of a single one-way lane in the United states. We had to pull over to let these big omnipresent dump trucks go by. The weather was perfect for the first time in weeks. Where it has been in the high 50s and low 60s, today it was in the low 70s with a slight breeze. My window was open and the jungle on the side of the road almost came into the car. I kept waiting for one of those hand-sized brown recluse-on-steroids-looking spiders that literally chase people in parking lots to spot me and have me for a late lunch.

My Northern office, like my regular office is within rock skipping distance of the ocean except in this area a small cliff overlooks the ocean. It was low tide and the water was turquoise and perfectly clear. The coral was highly visible and the water was almost totally calm. I really need to start toting a camera around more often.

During our entire two hour outing I saw new everything; areas I hadn't been in before, new shops, housing, Japanese signs and a base that I had never been on before. It was very cool and made Japan seem just a little bit new again.