Where we live

People have asked me from time to time where exactly do we live in Japan, since Sumita rarely shows up on standard English maps of Japan. I've taken the time recently to point us out on a map here, that shows you where Sumita is. We're in the south-east of Iwate (ee-wat-tay) prefecture, about 20km from the Pacific Ocean. As you can see from the map, the myth of overpopulation in Japan, is actually just a myth. Once you get outside the major cities, it's not very dense at all. Granted, there ARE a lot of mountains that fill in the "white" spaces. :)

Here's a link to Google Maps where you can see Sumita as well. It's in Japanese, so I'm not sure if the names show up. Our town is just north-west of the "B" tab on the map. The "B" is in fact, Ofunato City, which is Junko's hometown.

http://tinyurl.com/lk4jz

And here's a link to a close-up zoom of downtown Setamai, in Sumita.

http://tinyurl.com/l9lzd