This morning was especially windy and cold, a reminder that winter is not over yet. The streets that were not familiar before have now become my morning routine walk.
The resident homeless man, shuffling aimlessly in his torn pants and matted hair. How a hot shower, haircut and new fresh set of clothes would give him newfound dignity.
As I descended underground,… the smell of freshly baked bread in front of the department store. Some employees were dragging carts full of food, arranging their display for the day.
The throng of salarymen and women in black or sombre colours, they briskly walked with purpose and determination like a school of fish. Many were clad in masks, pollen season is starting again.
A big group of school kids were gathering and chatting merrily in front of the station entry with large suitcases, they must be going on a study trip.
Here and there, small group of tourists in windbreakers and backpacks, getting lost inside the maze of the busiest station in Japan (and the world?).
Train announcements by men and women in their artificial high-pitched ‘commercial’ cutesy voices, some I understood, some I didn’t have a clue. The familiar train jingle then played. The air inside the train was warm and stale, contrasting to the cold crisp outside, but luckily it was not so crowded today and no body contact was required.
It’s time to go to work.
Today, it has been exactly a year, Tokyo. Thank you.
