I'd gotten so used to it I forgot to mention that much of the Kansai region is bordered by mountains that are often quite visible in the distance. Coming from Minnesota where the closest thing to a mountain I've seen is that wicked sledding hill over by.... anyway, when I got here it was pretty strange to always see mountains on the horizon. While I've often entertained the idea of walking up into the mountains, in reality they're actually quite far away and I'm not aware of any train lines that take you close to the largely uninhabited regions near the mountains.
While this picture doesn't offer the clearest view of the mountains I've come across, it gives a good idea of what people in Osaka see on a daily basis as they go about their day.
One thing I found odd when moving from the flat plains of north Texas to Portland was how much smaller the sky was. I wasn't used to being surrounded by hills and mountains, and it took some getting used to.
ReplyDelete