Japan enjoys such a variety of local differences!

On a recent trip to Smith head office in Osaka, I was reminded how different the weather can be in various parts of the country, even
though the distance is not so great.

Of course, where we are from in Canada, temperatures vary greatly from
city to city, and also from day to day. It is not unusual for there to
be a sudden change of up to twenty degrees overnight. However, we have
been living in Yokohama for eleven years now, and tend to forget that
is possible, as daily temperatures and weather patterns do not vary so
much here.

The day we arrived in Osaka, it was balmy and the sky was blue and
cloudless. Fantastic! It was a welcome change from the cold, greyweather in Yokohama that day. The next day in Osaka brought a strangemix of cold air, snow and sunshine. One moment it was snowing, and afew minutes later the sun came out and it was like a spring day. Thenthe snow started again, followed again by sunshine. I had to laughthat this surprised me, as it happens so often in Canada. Never in
Yokohama, though.

Japan enjoys such a variety of local differences, it never getstiresome traveling. Different weather, geography, local foods, local
customs (like standing on the right side of the escalator in Osaka,
versus the left in Tokyo) all combine to make each day interesting
here, no matter where you are. And yet, unlike in Canada, you only
need to take a short train ride to enjoy these little differences!