Years ago my wife and I made a trip to the grand shrine and Izumo Shrine too. It was after the archaeological findings you wrote about and I was fascinated to learn that the huge shrine of legend may not have been a myth after all. We were there in the Fall. Chilly but beautiful.
The car culture you mention seems to be common in rural areas. My wife is from Toyama City and all adults in families there have their own cars and the city is far from rural. However, the city lacks the public transportation Tokyo has and more than makes up for it with wide streets and parking lots. Many work a ways from the city with privately owned vehicles being the only way to commute.
Rural Japanese seem to be victims of the “flyover country” mentality that urbanites in the U.S. have. Those in flyover country are misunderstood and ignored at best, and belittled at worst. The housing boom there is good news.
Years ago my wife and I made a trip to the grand shrine and Izumo Shrine too. It was after the archaeological findings you wrote about and I was fascinated to learn that the huge shrine of legend may not have been a myth after all. We were there in the Fall. Chilly but beautiful.
The car culture you mention seems to be common in rural areas. My wife is from Toyama City and all adults in families there have their own cars and the city is far from rural. However, the city lacks the public transportation Tokyo has and more than makes up for it with wide streets and parking lots. Many work a ways from the city with privately owned vehicles being the only way to commute.
Rural Japanese seem to be victims of the “flyover country” mentality that urbanites in the U.S. have. Those in flyover country are misunderstood and ignored at best, and belittled at worst. The housing boom there is good news.
It sounds paradisaical except for the cold.
Fascinating read! I'm definitely going to visit :)
Really interesting, thank you.