Here's a photo which I think captures a lot of Japan:
Cherry Blossoms, a Cemetery, and a Ramen Noodle Joint
I took this near Daigo Temple in Yamashina, Kyoto, Japan, after visiting the temple during cherry-blossom season last month.
The big yellow sign says “Ramen” (as in “noodles”), and is for a shop on a major street that you can't otherwise see in the picture. The thing that looks like a cemetery is a cemetery, although there are no bodies, just monuments and likely some ashes.
As a bonus quintessentially Japanese thing, in the very upper right, you can see some futons hanging over someone's balcony railing, being refreshed in the sun.
Here's a pointer to a satellite map showing where the shot was taken, and also the location 300 yards to the northwest of the sign itself. The observatory on top of the mountain is that of Kyoto University, just exactly three miles (4.9 km) away.
Beautiful photo.
Something I find interesting is that a huge ramen sign like that would disrupt the view for me were it in English, but as I cannot yet read much Japanese it somehow doesn’t register with me the same way and manages to blend. In a similar manner, I didn’t find converstations near me distracting, as I could not understand 90% of what was being said.