We’re surrounded!!

In case you weren’t aware, Japan happens to be an island. In the ocean. Before coming to this bit of land in the big blue, I didn’t realize what all that would entail. Now I know and I will tell you.

Japan is consequently also in the midst of wind currents that dramatically influence the nature that thrives in different areas and of course the daily weather for people (that thrive everywhere). The weather here is surprisingly (at least to me) sporadic. I thought I would be living in a tropical weather area, with plenty of heat to keep me warm. And when I arrived, my assumptions were confirmed; it was hot and humid, oh boy.

Then I experienced truly luxurious, perfect days at just the right temperature and with a glimmer of light breeze…it was enough to make me utter a contented sigh every time I stepped outside.

And now it is cold! Can you believe it?! It’s quite frigid enough to make a person want to actually wear long sleeves when they go outside!! Unheard of. ;)

And apparently a typhoon was headed our way. There certainly was an awful lot of wind at one point during the day, but wind, where I’m from, is not unheard of. So I didn’t think much of it. Before I knew it, the typhoon had apparently already done the damage it was going to do and moved on. I slept through my first earthquake and ignored my first typhoon. It seems my powers of observation are not so powerful.

Not only is the weather a sign of the surrounding oceanic currents, but I’m also reminded we’re on our own little island when I walk on water everyday on my way to school! : ) The Japanese have developed the finest waterways I have ever seen. And from the stories I’ve heard about the rainy season here, the waterways are absolutely necessary! Water passes through many of the sidewalks and roads I walk on and I can hear water moving constantly under the waterways’ concrete lids. The water is pushed along in any given direction at a precise speed and volume, and there’s rarely water gathering anywhere. Except in the rice paddies! I suppose it makes sense that all of the copious amounts of rain we get have to go somewhere. I just didn’t know how present in and conscious waterways were in the architecture of this island.

So there you have it. You were hoping to learn a lot about Japan while reading this, but now all you know is that Japan is an island. ;)