Page 35 - WDT Winter 2018 japan

OBSERVATIONS

ings or condominiums and narrow low-rise houses with an Noted travel writer Paul Theroux, who also observed Japan
occasional modern high-rise thrown into the mix. Interspersed through a train window, summed up our feelings about
with the mishmash of architectural styles, mostly boxy post- Japan’s eclectic residential areas. “From the carriage window,
war affairs, were a few classic Japanese-style homes with as the train travels north from Tokyo, through Sendai and the
shiny decorative roof tiles. Many had small courtyard gardens coastal towns of Minamisanriku, Kesennuma, Okuma, and
with manicured bonsai-styled trees and stone lanterns as well others -- the ones now swept away -- the Japanese can be
as an adjacent brilliant green rice paddy. seen living in unusual urban density, the low, snug houses

WINEDINEANDTRAVEL.COM 35