Every morning I wake up, eat breakfast, and start my walk to the train station. It’s great getting to hear the utter silence in the morning. No cars, an occasional bird, and the sun beaming down since 5:30. As I walk past shrines and temples, I get waves of cherry blossom incenses wafting in the air. It’s fantastic. Even though everything here is time related and following the schedule is of the utmost importance, I managed to find a casualness to Japan. My area isn’t exactly country, although I won’t speak for the next town over, but it’s interesting seeing the cohesion of new and old. A bell being rung by the old couple praying at a shrine and the incenses accent the large new roads formed for the guy with Jag that will be hitting the streets in an hour. Somehow it works.