Rainy days are beautiful too!

Thursday and Friday.

I love the feel of rain on my skin

If you believe in an omnipotent god, you might well have said he or she had been upset over the last couple of days, for the heavens have opened and tears from angels have fallen down.  I don’t, so for all I will say is, it's been raining! 

Yes, water from the clouds has been falling for most of Thursday, through the night and for pretty much all of Friday as well. The temperature has also plunged, 22 °C yesterday and 15 °C today, which means it was warmer back in dear ol’ Blighty than down this end of the globe. (Do globes have an end?) Indeed, most of Southern England has been bathed in clear sunshine (well, at least during the daytime!) whilst a cloudy, rainy sky has been the mainstay of these days.

Looking out under the umbrella

Yet, whilst the weather hasn’t been exactly the best, I’ve still gone out for a little walk for fresh air, exercise, and to find out if Japanese rain was warm – a request from my brother. The short and honest answer is no!  The rain that greeted my head yesterday was not warm at all, although I will admit, it wasn’t icy cold either; it was pretty normal.  High humidity percentage meant it probably felt colder than it actually was, but it was still worth being out in it. 

I strolled by the river, with hardly a soul about, both today and yesterday, which was hardly surprising and honestly quite delightful. I looked at the plants, the bushes, the wildlife – a large grey Heron, the raindrops, the sometimes slightly slippy paving and tiles, which were enhanced by the cloudy and somewhat murky sky.

Little drops on little leaves

Yesterday, the cloud was so low that the entire 634-metre Tokyo Skytree was obscured from view; today it made an eerie, ghostlike appearance, looming in the sky between bursts of rain. I found it slightly disconcerting that the single tallest landmark, by which I often navigate this part of the city, was absent from my vision, while my mind assumed this is what the skyline must have looked like 15 years ago, prior to construction.

Today, I walked a little further, down to Kiyoshu-bashi Bridge, where I crossed the river, then walked along the terrace and up and over Ryogoku Bridge and back along that side until I was home.  Sometimes the rain was soft and little more than mizzle, other times it was driven ferociously by the wind into my face, blowing the umbrella inside out and soaking my top.  

In this dull and rainy state, you might have expected my fondness for Tokyo and Japan in general to dissipate and diminish, at least a little bit. You know, people rarely wear the rose-tinted tourist sunglasses in the rain. But you’d be wrong, I still have a soft spot in my heart for this massive city. Even in the rain, the mist and the murk, I still found beauty in almost all directions. Be it along the sides of the river, or the roadways I pass down or the skyscape that greets the eyes as I gaze heaven-bound. I’m not sure if the fact I’m getting older, or indeed am already old, but I try and find beauty in everyday activity, for which I am thankful. Perhaps, it is only when you get old that the simple joy of seeing a Heron perched on a bush in the middle of a downpour, or feeling the rain tingle your cheeks, or watching bigger drops splash in puddles, delights and lifts your heart. 

Rainy days are beautiful too!

What is that bird?  Is it a heron?  Maybe.

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