Same, Same but Different

 

This unsual "bridge" allows a road running along a high ridge on a mountain to continue at a lower level. It's in the scenic Izu peninsula. 

We have the same kind of "bridge" right in front of our apartment building! This one is not for cars, but for bicycles. 

This enables cyclist to traverse the train tracks and then cross to the next island. Our apartment is in the building at the top left, right side, third floor. 

The Population of Canada, In One Place

Because of COVID 19, the Tokyo Skytree (taller than the CN Tower, by the way) has been encouraging people to visit by offering a 50% discount. That was enough for us to go and check it out. The greater Tokyo area has a population equal to the population of Canada. We've just included a couple of pictures here to give you an idea of what Canada squished into one place would look like.

First, the immediate neighourhood, with the Sumida river and Asakusa across the bridge, and a sightseeing boat (with social distancing of course) heading down the river.

Next, a shot of the eastern part of Tokyo. Our apartment is somewhere to the south, and in the haze beyond is Tokyo Bay. It's impossible to capture "downtown Tokyo" in one picture, because the areas surrounding each major station on the Yamanote central circle train line are separate "downtowns" each with their own character. 

And here's a shot of the Skytree at nighttime, with the Arakawa river visible in the top left corner.

 

Read the Fine Print!

These are preserved nameko mushrooms, but it's the writing at the bottom of the label that makes it interesting. We don't know the background on this, but we were at a store that had several products with several Bible verses written on them. Yamazaki Bakeries, the biggest baking company in Japan, is another company that is owned by Christians.