When you pick up an average guidebook on Japan, the Tohoku section is usually sparse, showing photos of rice farmers and alluding to their seemingly only (anti) social output, PACHINKO (Japanese slot/pinball).  Tohoku has not just been forgotten by tourists, but by the government as well, most of the national parks have fallen into disrepair, and many large engineering projects that had begun, now quietly sleep as rust an corrosion rebutt their efforts.  Coming to Tohoku has certainly opened my eyes to the beauty of rural Iowa, every piece of nature here has been channeled by concrete and steel.  I have chased some tracks to festivals like Emburi (below right), a parade where each rice farming family dresses in colorful traditional costumes, each step of their dances mimics a step in the process of cultivating rice, from planting to harvest.  The most difficult thing here is making true friends, as in all collective cultures, once people have their circle of friends and family, they are done making new ones.  So people are very friendly, though I have never received an invitation, or been able to establish plans with a Japanese person.aomori