Sunrise in the Land of the Rising Sun

18 November, 2014

Osaka, Japan 

日本 NiHon - JAPAN - It's name means Sun's Source, hence The Land of the Rising Sun!

Pronounced Ji-Ben in Mandarin, Japan was named by the Chinese, who daily watched the sun rise over the distant archipelago.

"The transistor radio comes from far away, and when it's night over here, over there it's breaking day..." song: "Made in Japan" Though the day does not officially begin here, it certainly gets started a full nine hours before it does in Houston. 

From my high-rise hotel, surrounded by dozens of other skyscrapers, I watch as the dark mantle of night slowly disappears, and the city in the distance is bathed in yellow. 

Way down in the streets below, all is still quiet. The concrete and glass canyons are still. A lone man sweeps an already pristine sidewalk, a tiny delivery van makes a stop a few blacks away, and a couple hurry to the train station, pulling their suitcases behind them. 

Slowly it gets brighter, and more light filters down to reveal a few bleary-eyed early commuters, well-dressed in suit and tie, eager to get a head-start on the day.

A bicyclist speeds down the deserted streets, unhindered by the certain onslaught of traffic that this city will unleash in an hour's time. Two or three more small trucks turn down the ribbon of dark asphalt, and the city streetlights now flicker off. Looking up, The tiny sliver of a waning moon has been banished from the sky. 

In the Land of the Rising Sun, the yellow ball ascends to take its rightful place overhead, revealing the mountains in the distance. As the sun rises, a brilliant shaft of golden light gleams - a reflection of the yet-unseen sun. It is hidden from view by a building, but it is there nonetheless, and getting brighter. 

It is time to greet the sunrise;

A new day has begun!!