22 July 2000

(Click previews for a larger, color image)

	This is a statue alongside the road in Kamogawa. I was told that these statues tend to be placed at places where accidents once occurred. There are a bunch of one yen coins at the foot of the statue.
	Another statue. This one was about a block away from the first statue across the street.
	The beach in Kamogawa. There are usually lots of surfers and swimmers here, but this picture was taken in the early evening.
	A surfer enjoying the last waves of the evening.
	A Japanese keyboard. There are multiple characters on each key. You can press special shift buttons to switch between the characters on the keys. I am glad that I don’t have to use this.
	The view from behind my apartment. Note the mountains and the presence of the Japanese architecture in the other buildings.
	Todd Swanson with some flowers. This was the night of his going-away party.
	I have no idea what this sign says, but it has a picture of a devil dancing on it.
	Mr. Wocher’s dog, Taffy.
	The table at the House of Wocher before Todd’s going-away party. The first course was a salmon salad. Yummy.
	Todd Swanson, John Wocher, and Dan at the dinner table.
	A flock of chickens. These birds are running free in a yard in the middle of town. This is atypical, even for Iowa, and struck me as funny.
	A very crowded Japanese graveyard. There is no grass in here. From what I understand, people are always cremated here and their urns are stored in places like this. This graveyard is right in the middle of town, with houses very close by.
	This is not a music and electronics store. It is a communications space. Jon Collings is riding his bike in front of it. He seeks the fruits of the Coke machine.
	This is a strange sign. I guess if you have uranium with you, you can’t take it into Jusco.
	Here is the small Hello Kitty toy I purchased to conform with Japanese people. She is showing off her summer outfit. Hello Kitty is proudly sitting on my alarm clock, alongside my calendar, an empty bottle of Spanish wine and a full bottle of sake that I plan to take home.
	Jon Collings trying to figure out the flashlight he bought at the 100 yen store. This is analogous to a dollar store in the US.