I’m not sure exactly what I expected of Japan before I visited.  I had learned a bit of the language which had taught me about some aspects of the culture, and I’d read the guide books and a bit of modern Japanese fiction.

But still the place took me aback.  Everything was more extreme than I expected, the skyscrapers higher, the mountains more beautiful, the language more difficult.  It is such a place of contrasts, of rural next to urban, of hi-tech versus ancient tradition.

So when the Daily Post asked for an image of non sequitur it was Japan that came to mind immediately.

One afternoon, when everyone else in my group was resting in cool rooms away from the extreme heat, I took the opportunity to go for a wander through the old town, down the narrow market streets, peering at the strange, colourful foods in window displays that spilled out onto the streets.

I turned a corner and through  a gap between anonymous-looking modern buildings I spied a small cemetery.

A traditional cemetery wedged into a very modern space.

But the biggest surprise was what stood next to it:

So you can visit your ancestors and have you picture taken posing, I think, as Izumi Shikibu, a famous ancient poet – famous for her writings, but also for her love life.

Linked to the Daily Prompt: Non Sequitur.