Street 煉瓦

Somewhere.

Blue Tin ブルートタン

Some examples of the corrugated tin, which normally comes in red or the shade of blue shown here, and old wood that are frequently found together here.

Hongō 樋口一葉の井戸

Some stairs near Higuchi Ichiyō’s well. I love this part of Tokyo. There’s a certain charm here that I haven’t encountered anywhere else in the city.



Ichiyō’s well. A bit of a letdown in some respects, but I’m glad I paid it a visit nonetheless.



A flower-in-a-cup fixed in the painted bars of a ground-floor window with so much potential. And this was the best that I came away with. Damn.

I also just discovered that I inadvertently deleted a number of photos from this day that I was hoping to feature here. I keep looking for them on my computer, but they are long gone. A lesson in nonattachment.

Look Closely 東大の近く

I took these photos in Hongō, an historic district of Tokyo where a number of prominent writers once lived. I took the first two photos at Tokyo University, Japan’s most prestigious tertiary institution. Much of the campus is somewhat reminiscent of an industrial park, although these shots are definitely an extreme of that aesthetic. I inadvertently ended up in the first photo. The other three were taken on my way to the well near the grounds of Higuchi Ichiyō’s old home.


Air conditioning system?


This old contraption was once mounted to the back of a bicycle or scooter used to deliver food, probably ramen and other such noodle dishes. A swing tray would have been fixed to the suspension mechanism with a chain to prevent spilling when the scooter hit small bumps in the road and rounded corners. I have no idea what it was doing here, as there were no eateries nearby.


A bench on an old paved path to a temple near Ichiyō’s well.

Sugamo 巣鴨

I had some time to kill in Sugamo before meeting a friend for lunch and a long walk through Tokyo. It was rather early in the day when I was there, and not much was happening. I took these in the neighborhood near the station that is home to a number of establishments catering largely to a nighttime crowd.

They Don't Make 'em Like They Used to 鉄道博物館、鉄ちゃんの卵

I don’t consider myself a trainspotter, but I probably like trains more than most people. And so when a meeting came up that required me to travel to Omiya yesterday, I decided to go a few hours early to check out the recently opened Mecca of rail fandom in Japan, the Railway Museum (和文リンク). It was basically me, a few ferroequinologists (including one classic father-son pair aged roughly 65 and 40 respectively), and three thousand young couples with their five-year-old sons in tow (see those little feet and hands off to the right in the above picture?). Maybe I'm a rail geek after all.

More More Nakano 続々中野

I've mentioned before that as a child I was a huge fan of Godzilla, thanks to my dinosaur obsession and the TBS daytime programming, which regularly featured Japanese anime, kaijū and giant robot shows. This is a poster for the American edition of the first film. When I saw it, I immediately thought, "I want one!" Then I read the flavor text and recalled the origins of the creature. Depressing.


Tam Tam Shot Bar is around the corner from Godzilla. I didn't venture inside, but I liked the shapes and colors of the exterior.


This might be the door to Tam Tam, but I can't recall for sure. It's definitely next door. I assumed this a fired out local, but when I went past later on my way home it was open for business. Nice. Thirty years ago you could have plopped Steve, Paul, Johnny and Sid in front of this door and nothing would have looked out of place.


Terrible photo, but I had to share. This is just classic.


And finally, a life-size statue of the manga character Ashita no Joe. That's it for Nakano.