Flowers along the riverside circles in my mind......

The Skytree points like a needle to the heavens above.....

Along the side of the river, on the man-made concrete banks at various points are raised flower beds, populated with brightly coloured flowers or big bushes and mini trees. The names of which escape me, for I am not a green-fingered man or at all knowledgeable about such horticultural things. However, despite not knowing their names, they are all a pleasing sight for the eyes to feast upon. They instil a sense of calm and near tranquillity upon one. I say near tranquillity, after all, we are still in a city of many millions, and the daily activities of the populous hum ever present in the background. These flowerbeds are complemented by various bricks, tiles, or paving slabs along the walkways, some raised, some not, some rough, some smooth. It is a little nod to the aesthetic that you often see replicated through the city, which helps ensure its charm envelopes you. 

The flowerbeds are a delight for the eyes and the mind

Only in Tokyo do spaceships float!

Thus far, my favourite pastime in quiet moments, whilst living on the banks of the Sumida River, is to walk along these banks and let my eyes wander and dance over the rippling river to the flowers and greenery. The various tall buildings beyond the flood containing walls vie for attention with the passing marine traffic, mostly made up of sightseeing boats and restaurant launches, some of those so futuristic looking you could be forgiven for thinking that aliens have landed. Occasionally, I'll see a working boat, a barge or tug, then even more fleetingly, one of the emergency services boats zooms past. 

There is beauty with every step!

Sometimes my mind ponders on the beauty of each flower or bush as I stroll past, other times I'll marvel at the architecture of the myriad of buildings that rise skyward. Of course, as a boat travels up or down the river, my thoughts are cajjouled in that direction. I wonder where it is going, who the captain is, what it costs, how many passengers are looking out at me upon the banks and other such practical matters. I have also let my mind wander into the lives of the other people I pass on these walkways, the way one often does when people watching from a pavement table at a cafe, or so. I don't know if I'm alone in that, but when I'm in a city, I can't stop my brain from wondering about the secret lives of the people I pass, either on the street or down here by the river. Are they married?  Are they single? Are they having a secret affair with the person on the next floor up in their apartment building? Are they working, and if so, what is the occupation? Are all questions that dart across my mind at lightning speed, which I'll never know the answers to, although I do occasionally make up!  

A sea of dasies and not a chain in sight!

Of course, being down here, walking slowly on, not exactly aimless, yet with no particular destination in mind, I can often find my head on loftier things. I've pondered emotions, the difficulty of finding a place to call 'home', of wondering what one's point is and various 'heavyweight' subjects like that. Yes, down here on the riverbank, you can often think of higher things, mentally pontificate on the meaning of life, or lack thereof, of god and her presence or not, of peace and war. But mostly, I like the wind upon my face and my mind flittering over subjects as rapidly as the sun shimmers over the ripples of the waves on the river. 

Traditionally modern!

Why am I here and what am I doing? Well, I wish I could give you a concrete and secure answer that would satisfy you and me alike, but I can't!  I suppose, I'm here because I've reached the age where I should settle down, grow old, and well, not to put too finer point on it - die! I'm mid-fifties, it's time to stop this aimless existence and stop in the place I feel most at home. Except, I don't know where 'home' actually is; I've not felt completely at 'home' in any place I've lived for the last twenty or so years. So, I guess right now, I'm just trying on Tokyo for size. I loved it as a tourist, so now, staying longer and seeing if the magic and shine of the big vibrant city wears off with time, and the grind gets me down. Or whether the delight of being one in 14 or so million shines like the brightest star in the sky. 

Sometimes even where your feet walk is a thing of beauty.

 

Dreams and desires

The wonder of lines

The joys these plants bring will be fleeting, yet their memory will linger for years to come!

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The lonely stranger in a foreign land….

The lonely stranger in a foreign land….

If you’re lonely before you come here, your loneliness will greatly increase once you are in this strange land where little is the same. There is an old expression, presented perfectly by Harry Chapin, “You can travel ten thousand miles and still stay where you are”.  I feel you can’t expect travel or relocation to ease all your woes,  solve all your problems, heal your broken heart or fill whatever void exists in your life. Your past is YOUR past, and will forever be so; it travels with you, despite any desire you may hold to leave it back where you left it. 

Once you learn or realise travel and relocation isn’t the panacea for all that’s wrong in your life, the better you’ll be. I don’t guarantee much, but I’ll guarantee that! Equally, if you’re lonely, Japan and especially Tokyo is probably not the place for you to spend too long in.  It is hard to explain, but for me, I feel like Tokyo is made up of 14 million individual people living 14 million individual lives! There is a certain independent expectation that exists here that I’ve not noticed in any other city. For example, if you go out to eat, the vast majority of restaurants and eating places just assume you are dining alone, and there is no drama and definitely no stigma if you are. Fresh ready meals from supermarkets or convenience stores are proportioned for either families or singles, and nothing in between.  

I’m not sure if Tokyo is an outlier or more typical of Japan as a whole, but the overwhelming majority of 20 to 29-year-olds are not married (79.4% of men and 65.3% of women). Around 35% of Japanese men in their 30s have no spouse or partner. The percentage drops by just 5% for guys in their 40s and only about 7% for those chaps in their 50s. Based on projections from the 2020 census, there are between 4.5 and 4.7 million singles in Tokyo today, and by 2030, that number could be up to between 5 and 5.2 million. 

So if you’re lonely at home, before you come to Japan, I think the chances of that loneliness following you here are, to say the very least, damn likely to be sure. But if you are like me, single and not necessarily lonely, you might just find this is an ideal city for you to visit. There is no faux concern when you eat alone in a restaurant, nor do you get approached by a woman, inviting you to join her and her family to eat, because they ‘felt sorry’ for you sitting all by your lonesome. Indeed, many restaurants have only ‘single person’ booths, stalls or tables. There isn’t an expectation for you to be in a couple, have a ‘significant other’ or be otherwise entangled. It’s refreshing, at least it is for me, to get a meal for one and not have accusatory or sympathetic eyes boring holes into the back of your head, nor do you get the quizzical questions about how come you’re single at such a mature age!

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Waseda - Keio Regatta

I was out on my balcony today, enjoying a leisurely mug of green tea and feeling the wind ruffle my hair, or what little I have left, when some sort of noise and commotion caught my attention from down below on the river. At first, I couldn't see what it was, then my eyes focused, and there, near the other bank, beyond the bridge, I spotted about eight or nine fellows in a rowing boat. Not only that, coming along the river was another rowing boat with a similar number of people rowing it.  Plus, there were a few other boats of various sizes, something was evidently going on and something a little more than the usual marine activity. 

It was a rowing race, I suppose it is similar to the annual University Boat Race between Oxford and Cambridge, held on the River Thames in dear ol' London town. However, here in Tokyo, its a series of races, including two really long ones that kicked off just across the river from me.  (Is kick off the right exprersson for the starting of a boat race?  I'm not sure!)

This is the annual Saikei Regatta, between Waseda and Keio universities, which has been running for 95 years, which is, needless to say, rather a long time! Although, it is a mere baby when compared to the London one, which saw its 171st one take place on 4th April this year.  

Some of the races took place upstream and were between 500 and 1000 metres in lenght, however the two that started near me had these rowers battle it out for 3,750 metres, which is about 2.3 miles or thereabouts. I know I couldn't row that far, at least not as fast as they were going, it might take me about three hours to complete the same distance they did in under 11 minutes!

I wonder how fast you could spiddle your macons or cleavers in a tidal river? 

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