There's a bit of a misconception that the Japanese get along with nature.

Yes, the Japanese like nature, but the nature they like is not "raw" nature — the nature "red of tooth and claw". They're actually rather nervous when they find themselves near that sort of nature.

What they're much more comfortable with is the "cooked" nature of formal gardens, of bucolic farmlands, of nature when safely viewed at a distance or inside a protective structure.

Mountains are majestic until you find yourself lost on one. Forests are calming only when you're still on the safe path. The moon is beautiful when viewed from your garden, but not in the depths of a dark trackless forest. The seas are generous, but not if you're in a small boat when there are 20 foot waves.

This attitude is somewhat understandable when you realize that most Japanese are now city dwellers. Slightly over 92% live in an urban environment, with less that 8% living in a rural environment.

Add to this that their experience of "raw" nature is that it tends to be rather homocidal, what with having to deal with 200 mph tropical cyclones, torential rain and flash floods, landslides, tsunamis, earthquakes and volcanos.

Life on the ring of fire is a bit like riding a rollercoaster without the safety bar.