Community. When looking at my community in the nearby vicinity in Morioka, it's a bit hard. There's not much interaction between my host mother and the neighbor at least in what she includes me in, so it's hard to say.

Here's what I do know. It's quite beautiful; despite being near a major road with businesses lining the sides, it's fairly quiet (except for those annoying government vans and the dog living around the corner). The neighbors all seem to know each other on an acquaintance basis; it's not rare to see two passerby stop for a quick chat, and my host mom is often sidetracked by fellow neighbors when seen with a foreigner. For the eighth or ninth time too, haha.

So people seem to mind their own business with a cheery disposition towards others. I wonder if this is because of the business setting right in their backyards, or if this is uniform throughout Morioka or even Japan.



But the best part of the community in my opinion is that of the park being simply in the middle of it. The trees seem to split it up giving enough space and area for relaxtion whether it's older school kids biking, someone taking a quick bite during a breather, or kids playing on the equipment. In fact, green seems a very common theme with plants shoved in almost nook and cranny not road, house, or parking.