Early impressions of Japan

I have been living in Japan for 5 months and my first impression of Japan is that it is a very modern county with high technology and its modern popular culture, and on the other hand the traditional culture and buildings are still well preserved.

Before I came to Japan, I could read from newspaper and Internet that how modernized Japan is. This is true that I can easily find Pachinko shops and game centers with the latest software and hardware even in rural areas like Hirakata City where I am living in (see right). Also, you can find almost everyone in Japan has their own cell phones. But these modernized images cannot describe the whole picture of Japan.

(Shrine near Seminar House)

Walking around in Hirakata City, I can easily find Shrines and temples between modern buildings. My friends and I went to Kyoto in the first week in Japan. We were so surprised that so many traditional and modern buildings are mixed together in Kyoto. Also, we saw many Japanese women wearing Kimono and Yukata in streets and in the temples(We took pictures with two Geisha in Kiyomizu Temple). But the local people were not surprise of Kimono wearing women. If you wear Cheongsam (Chinese traditional dressing) walking down the streets, everyone will look at you! That is not the case in Japan as many Japanese women wear their traditional clothes in their daily life. That is the reason why my first impression of Japan is a traditional and modern culture mixed country!