City Mouse and Country Mouse

Ichikawa City, Chiba Prefecture, Feb. 17,2005

So, a mouse is a mouse, right?
But as the old children's story pointed out, there is a difference.
Laurie and I spent 5 days in Ichikawa City, part of the Tokyo megalopolis, last week. We are still recovering.
Don't get me wrong. It's a fascinating place. But, we don't seem to be acclimated to it. She got a wicked cold, and I'm still having headaches. Can a city do that to you?
The down side is we had to leave snowless Kanto, with plum blossoms blooming, and return to the Aomori ice age, which will continue for another month, at least.
To point out one of the obvious contrasts between the two places- scenery- I am posting some photos. In order to get the kind of visual range I am used to, I had to go onto the roof of an apartment building for the cityscape. What is there in that picture that wasn't put there by humans (besides the sky, I mean)? Not much. People used to this environment from youth could be excused for thinking that humans have a higher level of control over nature than they actually have. There is little thought about where their food comes from, or where their waste goes, or how dependent they really are on the whims of Ma Nature. We bumpkins, on the other hand, get reminders thrown in our faces regularly. We are forced to face up to the reality of yearly cycles, while our city cousins do the weekly cycle thing.
So, which is better? Well, you decide. And, if you agree with the majority and opt for the city, so be it. That much more room out here for the rest of us.

Some analog scenery- behind our house


...and over in the rice fields.