It was my first Golden Week in Japan. My husband wanted to take me to a place called Holland Village (オランダ村). Now there is Huis Ten Bosch (ハウステンボス), but before Huis Ten Bosch, there was Holland Village.
Do you know what impressed me the most about that trip? You may be surprised. It was raining, and there were many, many people. And each person was holding an umbrella (傘)! There were so many umbrellas! I had never seen so many umbrellas in my life!
In Texas it doesn't rain much. When it did rain, we would just run instead of walk. I don't remember ever walking while holding an umbrella. I don't remember seeing other people walking with umbrellas. In fact, I don't remember ever owning an umbrella in Texas.
So, when I saw hundreds and hundreds of umbrellas all together at Holland Village that day, I was so surprised that I started taking photos. My husband asked me, "What are you taking photos of?" I said, "All the umbrellas! It's so pretty!"
It WAS pretty. The air was misty with rain, so the colorful umbrellas looked so bright and festive! That was my good culture shock that day.