Date: Wed Jul 3, 2002
Subject: Tokyo Report

Hi there folks,

I honestly will be brief this time. I've just returned from a 5 day holiday in Tokyo and I think I should write a little while it's still fresh.

I went to Tokyo to visit my old friend Ward (from University of Queensland days) and also a sitar player I just met recently in Kyoto who lives there. I had hoped to meet up with other people but connections didn't work out and as it was I had enough stimulation.

Tokyo is really a city. I mean I thought I'd seen cities before but that place is all city. In some ways it reminded me of Kathmandu's Thamel in terms of density of shops, but the best comparison I could make was to a huge nest of ants. People moving here, there & everywhere in huge streams of humanity. One night I went out with brother Ward and we were separated coming out of a train. There was obviously no hope of finding him and I found a message on my phone (I couldn't hear it ringing) from him to say he would wait a couple of minutes at the next train-station (we had to catch another line to get home). Anyway after sitting a few minutes at Hachiko in Shibuya, a famous meeting place where the people-watching is first-class entertainment, I made my way to the other train-station. What happens late at night when there are only 5 more trains and thousands of people want to catch them? The trains get COMPLETELY packed.
People squeeze themselves in, the doors shut on them and station guards walk down the train stuffing limbs in so the doors can shut and the train can creak along.

Back to Hachiko, Shibuya... I generally found Tokyo to be a completely overwhelming and not so pleasant experience (after the peaceful mountain views of Kyoto), but sitting in Hachiko was a real blast. Hachiko is a dog (Sorry, I don't know the story) whose statue sits in a square next to Shibuya JR station, and a very popular place to meet. The place is like a big communal lounge room, complete with 3 huge TV screens on the surrounding skyscrapers. I saw more fake blondes, high heels and short skirts than in a tacky US soap, and more dreadlocks than I'd seen for quite a while. Great fun. In my first half-hour while waiting for Ward-bhai, 2 art students asked me to be in their college-assignment video. As Ward said, "It's not every day girls ask you to be in their movie."

It was also most excellent to see my friends there but I have to say that overall I feel really lucky to live in peaceful old Kyoto. While I'm usually too busy to get to the mountains and forest, it's nice to know that if I wanted to I COULD get up there, and I can see them there with their organic vibes washing down onto me. Having said that, my sitar playing friend said he had thought the same thing before he moved there, but once you get into the rhythm of Tokyo it gets a hold on you.

Love to all,
Shen
Aum Mani Padme Hum