June 16 2009- Most of these pictures were taken a few months ago (as evident by the snow) Vehicles here for the most part are a bit smaller....well economical. There are still some larger vehicles, such as ours (the grey heap above) I'd like you to note that our car barely fits in the garage....barely, length wise. Width wise, we can have a second car, but our bicycles are taking up space....so no need for the second car. Anyway, ours is a Nissan Terrano 1990. 4wd which we used this winter. 4wd is put to good use here. They don't plow the Misawa city streets. The base gets plowed as it is a bunch of Americans there after all....The semi truck (above left) is about the average size for the semis. I think I have seen one full 18wheeler since being here, and suddenly it seemed VERY LARGE. We have very quickly gotten used to the small economy size of everything here...going back to the States will become a culture shock I'm sure.
Above: A sign labeling for the water cistern. Some of them have hydrants as well, others are just marked with a sign. Along with small semi's are the small fire trucks, but I guess they get the job done. We haven't had occasion to require their assistance. This one was just in the neighborhood, checking the hydrant/cistern, as this is a newly constructed housing area.
Road signs are always a treat. Most of the ones here in Misawa have the English translation. Needless to say, some things are lost in translation. Some of it is probably due to the fact that the Japanese language is very phonetic, there are a few weird sounds, that don't look the same when written on paper, but much less confusing our English/American oddities. Other miss-spellings are probably due to the dialect the American had when translating what it should read in English. If you read the above sign with a deep southern drawl....it makes perfect sense.
Sign on the right, just letting us know that a new water pipe would be worked on April 20, 21st year of the Emperor. There are two year systems used....the year 2009, like we write it, and as in this case 21, indicating how many years the current Emperor has reigned.
Of course, there are always familiar signs and faces. The KFC is down in Hachinohe. But we do have a McDonald's here in town. I'll have to say, the "fast food" here tastes a lot better, and is better proportioned, no big "super size".
Just an interesting sign. I have no idea what the business is, but the sign is a great landmark for remembering when I need to turn, or not.
Above: A sign labeling for the water cistern. Some of them have hydrants as well, others are just marked with a sign. Along with small semi's are the small fire trucks, but I guess they get the job done. We haven't had occasion to require their assistance. This one was just in the neighborhood, checking the hydrant/cistern, as this is a newly constructed housing area.
Road signs are always a treat. Most of the ones here in Misawa have the English translation. Needless to say, some things are lost in translation. Some of it is probably due to the fact that the Japanese language is very phonetic, there are a few weird sounds, that don't look the same when written on paper, but much less confusing our English/American oddities. Other miss-spellings are probably due to the dialect the American had when translating what it should read in English. If you read the above sign with a deep southern drawl....it makes perfect sense.
Sign on the right, just letting us know that a new water pipe would be worked on April 20, 21st year of the Emperor. There are two year systems used....the year 2009, like we write it, and as in this case 21, indicating how many years the current Emperor has reigned.
Of course, there are always familiar signs and faces. The KFC is down in Hachinohe. But we do have a McDonald's here in town. I'll have to say, the "fast food" here tastes a lot better, and is better proportioned, no big "super size".
Just an interesting sign. I have no idea what the business is, but the sign is a great landmark for remembering when I need to turn, or not.
