Talking Machines

In Japan machines talk. When the car starts up a voice makes announcements. I don't know what the announcement said. On Christmas Day the car said Merry Christmas. Watching shows on the screen is possible in a Toyota van that can hold 7 people. Riding back from the volcano I watched part of a magic show and a reality show. The steering wheel is on the right and that is very hard for me to get used to. I am not allowed to drive here as I do not have an international driver's license but several times I mistakenly got into the driver's seat. Getting out of the passenger seat I reach for the wheel to boost myself up and it's not there. People in Japan keep their cars very clean. The streets do not have names. Highways have numbers but the streets are nameless. To find an address the occupant will give you the city, the neighborhood and the house number within that neighborhood. Or they might send you a Google pin to find their house. Loudspeakers in neighborhoods give announcements but I don't know what they said. Music plays on the loudspeaker at noon and again at 5 p.m. The houses do not have central heat nor central air conditioning. Each occupied room has a heater/air conditioner mounted on the wall near the ceiling. For example, if I want to go to bed, I turn on my heater and within five minutes the room is cozy if I keep my door shut. When I leave my bedroom for the day I turn the heater off. The heater in the dining room/living room/kitchen speaks when it is turned on in the morning. Lately we have had some cold weather. Typical temperatures for this time of year are in the 40's and 50's. When the temperatures get around freezing the bathroom heater starts to talk advising us that the water in the pipes is cold and running the tub is advisable. Another unique thing about Japan that I did not notice before (I was here 5 years ago) is that everybody (yes, everybody) pulls into parking spaces back end first and ready to make a quick get-away. There are few public trash cans and recycling cans. We are expected to take our trash home and dispose of it there. All recycling must be rinsed out and clean of food. The parks are nice. Lots of Japanese kids seem to practice jumping rope.

This statue is at Nimitz park which is in between the Navy base and downtown Sasebo. Here is plenty of playground equipment for the kids.

This park is within walking distance and on the way to the grocery store. This park has playground equipment and exercise equipment for the adults.