Digihito

Fisherman, Sea of Okhotsk, Soya-misaki, Hokkaido, Japan.

This fisherman is about as far north in Japan as you can get, fishing in the cold waters off the northernmost tip of Hokkaido.

In the winter these waters are generally quite heavily iced, but in the summer the weather can be a pleasant 20 degrees Celsius.

Grandfather and grandaughter, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan.

This grandfather and grandaughter are enjoying a mikoshi carrying festival in Sapporo, and she is dressed appropriately.

Due to the long hours, and relatively few holiday breaks afforded workers in Japan, grandparents are in high demand as babysitters, a task they seem to take on with great pleasure. It is very common to see young children, escorted by one or both grandparents, out and about at all kinds of entertaining activities during daylight working hours, which of course for Japanese workers often includes at least a part of the weekend.

This extended family system works well in Japan, adding value to older people's lives, and providing youngsters with educational opportunities they might otherwise miss.

Mothers and babies, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan.

Very typical, to see young mothers out together with their babies - especially without their husbands anywhere in sight!

The wide, open footpaths of Sapporo, with its smaller population, make this a more pleasant walk than in many other, very crowded major cities in Japan.

One interesting aside to this. After many periods of zero, then declining birth rate, and predictions of the dire consequences of that, the birth rate in Japan has started to climb again.

Ramen restaurant cook, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan.

Ramen, a noodle dish made from various flavored soups, wheat noodles, vegetables and barbecued pork, is a Japanese copy of the Chinese original. But it is different enough now to be considered a local favourite, and various regions of Japan are well known for their local variety.

Sapporo is one such centre, famous for its miso based soup.

This man looks like the typical ramen cook, to be seen all over Japan. In fact, he looks a lot like short order cooks the world over.

Four teenagers in front of Sapporo station, Hokkaido, Japan.

Four young friends killing time before a shopping expedition around Sapporo station.

Many station buildings in Japan's larger cities house shopping complexes, even large department stores, suxh as the Daimaru store in Sapporo station.

And they are also usually one place you can find plenty of choices for eating, from good Japanese restaurants to Mr. Donuts, and many snack food or take-away options.

Mikoshi bearer, Sapporo street festival, Hokkaido, Japan.

There are tens of thousands of this kind of festival in Japan, where local people carry portable shrines, or mikoshi, through the streets in a procession, usually accompanied by music, and often dancing.

They have their tradition in shinto rituals to ask the gods for good harvests, or good fishing catches, and often take place at the beginning of the appropriate season. Summer is a big time for these matsuri, or festivals, as it is the rice planting and growing season.

Arcade dancers, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan.

In the shopping arcades all over Japan, young people turn out at night, when most of the stores have closed, to practice their dance moves.

In combinations of two, three, four or more, and equipped with cd players and remote wireless headphones, they spend hours and hours practicing choreographed routines to American and Japanese music.

This trio were working up a routine in the big arcade in Sapporo, Tanukikoji, and kindly stopped and posed for this photo.

A healthy pastime, it keeps them fit and out of trouble.

Food loader, hotel river boats, Hita, Japan.

During the river festival in Hita, in early summer, it is very pleasant to dine on the floating rafts that the various Japanese hotels situated along the river set up for patrons.

This man is loading food onto one of the boats just prior to departure.

More food is ferried to the boats from shore as it is cooked fresh.

Crane driver, construction site, Saga city, Japan.

Every industry in Japan has an appropriate uniform, and Japanese workers always look immaculate in their work clothes.

This crane driver is preparing to get into the cabin of his vehicle, and he will respect tradition of not wearing his shoes inside, and take them off to get up there. He likely has special work shoes that always, and only, stay in the cabin.

Student visiting shrine for exam blessing, Meiji Shrine, Tokyo, Japan.

Just 50 meters from the young woman in Harajuku costume, this student, dressed in the centuries old traditional kimono, is attending the shrine to pray for success in her upcoming exams.

It is customary to dress this formal when visiting the shrine for this blessing, and ironically, the young woman in the Harajuku outfit will likely wear a traditional kimono to the same ceremony when she sits for university entrance exams.