(2.) Exploring Japan

 All aboard! Join me and we'll spend one year travelling around Japan. Nature and rich culture await. 

Steam trains are still common in Japan. They're used as a tourist attraction. During the first three days of January, Japanese people like to ride steam trains to enjoy the scenery and to enjoy delicious food on board. The red logo on the front of the train is wishing everyone a Happy New Year. 

The cold air in February makes for clouds of steam as this coal-fired train chugs out of the station. 

March is when the old grass is set on fire to encourage new growth in the spring. Grass fires are an attraction in Japan. Tour buses packed with photographers will travel long distances to capture this spectacle. This amazed me because in Western Canada we treat a grass fire as an emergency. Put your camera down and grab a shovel!

April is a special time in Japan because the cherry blossoms bloom. This couple enjoys a romantic selfie along the Ichinosaka River in Western Japan. 

One of the best months to travel is May. The heat and humidity aren't too high and the crowds are small. In fact, I had this church in Tswano to myself. Notice that there are no pews. Instead, people sit on grass mats. These mats are called tatami. They smell just like sweet grass and reminded me of home. 

The fireflies streak across the sky on this evening in June. They're congregated along the stream you can see on the left where it flows under a bridge. The Japanese word for firefly is hotaru. 

I'm cheating. I'm going to show you two pictures from June. My reason is because there are two important events. The first is when the fireflies send sparks across the night sky and the second event is the rainy season, which is about a three-week period of intense rain. 

After the rainy season, it's possible to hold events such as the Lantern Festival. Here, we see Old Japan, with its traditional clothes and candle lanterns, meet New Japan, with its smart phones and selfies. The weather is so hot and humid in July that many Japanese people will tell you they don't like summer. This displeasure is almost unthinkable if you're used to short Canadian summers. 

August is the month when commemorations are held in Hiroshima and Nagaski in memory of the atomic bombings of both cities in 1945. Here, we see the Atomic Dome, as it is known, which is one of the very few buildings in Hiroshima to survive the blast. As you can see, the city has been completely rebuilt. 

Harvest is a special time of year around the world. In Japan, the rice harvest takes place in September. The fields are quite small so there's no need for grain trucks like on the Prairies. A three-wheel motorized cart such as this one will do fine, but this one got stuck under the weight of the heavy yield. Father and son teamed up to push the cart free. Next to the terraced rice field, we can see the traditional tile roof of their home. 

After a successful harvest, it's important to go to the temple to give thanks. I was drawn to the tones and shapes of Ryufuku-ji, a temple located in Yamaguchi, a city an hour west of Hiroshima. October is another great month in Japan. The weather is still warm, but there's less humidity. 

The maple trees display truly stunning colour in the fall. It's November by the time autumn paints the leaves in Japan. 

Sumo wrestling is the country's national sport. This photograph is from an exhibition match in December in Shimonoseki, a city known for its seafood.  

We have reached our destination. The conductor is waving good-bye to you as the train pulls away from the station. Until we meet again.