observations

A walk down the lane: 

Moats around the houses (gutters) 

grates on the sidewalks every 6 ft or so 

Strips of yellow with bumps for blind people 

grass sprouts wherever there are cracks in the sidewalks and on the rails 

Left side driving--think will crash at every turn 

Streets narrow as the rod of iron 

Orbs for streetlights (like Harry Potter) 

peanut butter and jelly containers are itty bitty

actually most every commercial item on the shelf is itty bitty 

ueda isn't all that cold until the wind blows 

bikes are as common as cars 

little bridges for pedestrians 

stop lights are sideways 

the little buttons say "おまちください" 

the church is just a regular building built across a hotel by the train station 

ueda actually has a castle. look it up. most of the cities in the countryside have a castle because they belonged to old feudal lords 

kids ride in actual cat buses 

Sweet.