Tokyo Notes

Finally, I've posted some more pictures. Sorry to anyone who has been waiting eagerly for these.

Rain! Although the rainy season is over, by government decree, it rained very heavily this morning. Breifly cooling, but doesn't do the humidity levels any good. I've given up on the air-conditioning in my flat - a fan, an open back door and plenty of drinking water seems to do it.

On what's left of the forecourt of a shrine, wedged between a 7-11 and a car park, an outdoor drinking club convenes. Mama-san pours beer for a minimal sum, and her husband grills a wide variety of meat and veg on skewers. The atmosphere is that of a community barbecue, with people bringing various dishes that they've cooked to share around the table. All very friendly. In fact I'd met one of the company before, on a nearby park bench. He'd had a can of chuhai in his hand, and some more in his bag, and he'd taught me the words for "pigeon" and "rhodadendron". At the end of the evening, one of the old men, who lives in the shrine, took Gary and me (somewhat unsteadily) up the steps. He gave us some money to put in the tray, and had us ring the bell, to awaken the god. After a few bows, he told us that we'd be happy the next day, which turned out to be true in my case.

The heat is brutal. 36C today, with 80% humidity. People walk about with little towels, mopping the sweat from their brows. Burly men on the train waft themselves with flowery fans. Old ladies carry parasols. Life carries on, with an undercurrent of irritability.

Three days away from the whiteboard. I haven't had two, never mind three, consecutive days off for a while, so I seized, greedily, this opportunity to decompress. So, Hakone, with Takako, for walking in the forests and bathing in the sulphurous springs. On the way home, we stopped at Hiratsuka for the Tanabata star festival. Plenty of drumming, gaudy decorations, fried octopus and general drunken merriment.

Pictures.

The rain has been dried up by this afternoon's sunshine. It hangs in the air, damply stopping my laundry from drying properly. I cower indoors, with the air-conditioner cooling my flat, but warming the globe.