Something you'd never see in the U.S...

In early December, Masashi ran in the Naha Marathon in Okinawa. (He finished in 5 hours, 55 minutes, 55 seconds...) More than 27,000 people started the race, and about 19,000 finished. So 27,000 people, most of the running for more than 4 hours...and where do they put their stuff when they are running? They just leave it, scattered all around the starting/ending point. These photos just show a few views of the area around the starting point. Yep, people leave backpacks and tents, totally unattended, with no security guards in sight, for several hours, with total confidence that all their stuff will be there when they get back! (The tents and blue tarps are no for security--they are just to keep things dry in case it starts to rain.) Masashi's friends did the same. I think that they left their wallets back at the hotel, but they left backpacks with their jackets and long pants and even their cell phones right there on the ground! I just can't imagine this happening in the U.S.