in tokyo

we arrived in nihonbashi yesterday a little after 4:30. today plan to see the munch exhibit in ueno (think it`s the same one already saw (and loved) in moma x months ago) and, more importantly, hope to swing by julia`s nakaochiai gallery, also ben`s cafe, with brian, yamanote reminiscing.

oh, right, the bizarreness of yesterday, i used to live in nishi-sugamo, just off a street called jizo dori, which is a famous shopping street for the silver-haired set. anyway, the nakasendo went right by my old apartment, where i lived for something like three-and-a-half years. never thought once, out shopping for groceries or whatever, that some of the people walking by were taking a stroll to kyoto.

also had to buy a train ticket at takadanobaba, and remembered that`s where i met mel for the first time, just smiling at each other while buying tickets, saying hi, striking up a conversation, going out all night, getting introduced to brian, so one cup senryu, yamanote, gomi, club ikebukuro, basically my life as it is wouldn`t have happened without brian, but that`s not something that usually occurs to me, just buying that ticket, looking around, really hit home. lots of tokyo memories, even just the subway ride from nihonbashi to takadanobaba on the tozai line, forgot how familiar everything is, i knew the stops coming up, iidabashi, omotesando, oh hey walking by mitsukoshi in nihonbashi, that`s where i used to meet marina for lunch sometimes, back in the day, so it was a trek through the more recent past yesterday, not hiroshige`s so much as my own.

some pics from day one (22nd october 2007, kyoto to kusatsu):






























































































































for mike renouard:















for mike renouard: