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There is something like 6 million vending machines (自動販売機) in Japan. I kid you not. At night they are all aglow, which makes you wonder why street lights are even necessary since you can see the streets just fine by the glow of the vending machines.
I took today’s photo somewhere between Harajuku and Shibuya.
The cherry blossoms have officially opened in Tokyo. I long to be there, but it’s not going to happen this year. I walked along the Kanda River nearly every night during sakura season last year. The massive cherry trees bent over the river and the lanterns lit them ever so sweetly. Notice the signs posted every few feet on the fence along the river. On them were written haiku by neighbors about sakura, the Kanda River, or both. Some of the poems were beautiful. Others were funny. This one was sad.
It says “桜見ず、パソコンながめ、勤務中” and was written by someone who calls himself 05パパ. Dad5’s poem reads, “Without viewing the cherry blossoms, I stare at my computer, in the middle of work.” I hope Dad5 is able to get out and see the cherry blossoms this year.
December of 2009 marked the first time in 11 years that holiday lights lined Harajuku’s famous Omotesando. Everyone, and I mean everyone, came to see them. We couldn’t move. It was pretty though and quite festive with the incredible crowds.
It doesn’t snow often in Tokyo. When it does, I like to go for a walk. This walk took me to Mizu Inari Jinja, between our apartment and Waseda University. A full moon in the sky just added to the stellar atmosphere.
I have shown you this place before. Chinzanso looks just as good, if not better, at night.
When the nights are cold in Japan you can sometimes hear the call “ya ki i mo” (やきいも) after dark. Heading out into the cold darkness you will discover someone like this man selling baked sweet potatoes out of a cart or the back of a mini-truck. I spotted this guy next to the Kanda River.
It appears from his license plate that he came all the way in from Hachioji to sell them two for 500 yen.