I haven't made an English Japan-post for a while, limiting myself to German, but I decided to start posting in English again so I made a separate post on this one. Hope you like it!

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When someone asks me what I like best about Japan, I often don't have a proper answer and usually just say, "The food!" But actually it's the atmosphere which I often find here in the land of the rising sun.

Japan is full, full of people and impressions. Modern and old-fashioned. Colourful, playful, loud, flashy but also organized, planned and calming. There is something for everyone here, if you get involved and look around. Of course there is often something good to see in the places where most people gather. But I am also often fascinated by normal street scenes and they have a great effect on me. Atmosphere is like a feeling and you often can't easily describe it, either it has an effect on you or not.

Today I show you some photos from some normal street scenes of several cities, all of them look different but similar and show a Japan away from temples and shrines and modern skyscrapers. Maybe I can bring over a little bit of the atmosphere which I encounter here again and again in the most amazing but also most normal places. It's just like everywhere else in the world, "Japan is what you make of it!"

Two pictures from the side streets of Tokyo's Nakano district. Busy, playful and overloaded but at the same time logical and inviting. A part of the city, where you are a little bit off the beaten track, but then again a part of it.

Kyoto has its very own charm and the impressions of the city have captivated me several times. Especially in the Gion district and near the Kiyomizu temple, it is easy to get lost in time. And as you are not alone for a long time, of course, you are quickly brought back to the present, which fortunately you can create yourself over and over again.

A very plain looking street scene from Kobe, a big city, where you can quickly forget about the crowds and somehow feel far away from the big picture. Just normal people following a normal daily routine. It's like someone finally says, "Keep walking, there's nothing to see here!"

Chinatown in Yokohama is worth an own post, but a photo made it here after all. Food is plentiful and everywhere in Japan, and that has to be advertised and promoted. In the respective districts of the city you are spoilt for choice and as an ignorant stranger you often don't know where to go. Luckily, photos in the menus help to cover up one's own reading weakness and to pretend to be the all-knowing Japan-profi in front of your guests from the distant homeland. Luckily, I have already managed to do this many times.

Another photo from Namba in Osaka, one of the city's nightlife districts, where crowds of people often gather. Even if you just drop by there is always a lot to see and depending on the time of day you can soak up different moods. It always fits!

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That's it for today. I hope you will come over again when there are more photos from the land of the rising sun. I still have a lot to discover, and I am looking forward to the next adventure.

Love and Respect !