As I look up to the sky today

This morning I struck on the idea of looking through satellite images for things other than landmarks and static objects. Lo and behold, a Wired article discusses the same phenomenon, with some cool images. I found shots of boats cutting through black seawater like shooting stars. Perhaps you would like to see them?

When I discovered the entire globe was available on Google, I zoomed over to Japan. This is where I lived; it's a heavily developed and populated area. Kyoto and Osaka should be in this shot. But they aren't! Perhaps someone who knows more than I do about satellite photo technology can explain what is going on here. My theory is that it travelled backwards in time and is sending images back from the pre-industrial period.