Thursday, January 04, 2024

Letter from Japan


As my trip begins to wrap up, I'm trying to see all of the key parts of Tokyo. But it is such an enormous city that covers so much territory here on Honshu, it really will not be possible.

I had heard of the Ginza for many years before I first visited Tokyo. My first mother-in-law told me about this central shopping district, and her memories of visiting it as she raised her children here in the '50s.

Because of her stories, I always wanted to visit Ginza. Since the '80s, when I was last here, the district lost favor among young people, who started flocking instead to other areas.


In recent years, a major effort has been undertaken to revitalize this old section of Tokyo. Now, it is the center of amazing architecture and tony international shops. Young people now flock to the area, especially if they have money. Nine out of every ten people on the street tonight were young women.


The Tokyo government built several white elephants with "Bubble" money, including the utterly amazing Tokyo International Forum. The sculptures and artwork captivated me, especially those laced with rainbow colors, like the glass balls pictured at the top of this post.


Many young and middle-aged Japanese women eat alone at the cafes near Ginza after work, as this is a major center of corporate employment in Tokyo. You can feel the sheer financial power of this country best here and in Shinjuku.


Whenever I travel anywhere, I cannot help fantasizing about moving there for a while and trying to make it as my writing home. For me, Tokyo feels like a very easy city to live in, although given my awful sense of direction, which is more properly described as the lack of any sense whatsoever of direction, I am afraid I would get easily lost on the subways here, even though every sign in every station is clearly labeled not only in Japanese but in English.


The Japanese honor their writers and poets and artists. They used to have many local coffee shops, the faded signs for which can sometimes be glimpsed here and there amidst the modern glitz. But Starbucks has taken over the market. Besides the coffee shops, there are the tiny pubs and big bookstores, with readings by authors. Any writer would feel at home here.


I know I am not talented as a photographer, and I apologize to anyone who happens to read this blog for the poor quality of my pictures. But I get so excited wherever I go, I just want to create some sort of record in images, not just in words.


All too soon, of course, I must abandon this exploration of this exotic place, and the feelings of renewal and hope that have swept over me here. It is time soon to go back home, and continue my life as one more commuter in the land of computers.

(From 2007)

HEADLINE LINKS:

 

at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)