Yesterday, I worked on my Blog in the morning, looking for answers and clues as to the direction I should take for my future. Then I dropped off my MacBook in my hotel room, packed up my camera, tripod and powerbank and set off for Narita station, to catch the Keisei-Line-Limited-Express to Shinjuku. It's a 1 hour 40 minute journey, through the Chiba countryside, then the Tokyo metropolitan area and finally the centre of the Japanese capital with its impressive urban density, so paradoxically peaceful.
The public transport journeys are disconcertingly simple. The use of modern communications tools makes it so easy to read signs, understand timetables and adapt quickly. Here in Japan, Google Maps makes it possible to follow the train you're on in real time, as well as other trains on the network. You can find out exactly which train to take, on which platform, by which escalator or lift. It even tells you which carriage to board for quicker access to which exit. It's simply amazing how far technology has come in giving us remarkable freedom of movement.
I got off at Shinjuku-Station, after revelling in the exceptional colours, flavours and scents. In the last 7-8 stations before getting to destination, I was seated next to a very elegant young woman whose perfume was totally intoxicating. It's very rare to smell a woman's perfume in Japan, as they are often very discreet. But the one she was wearing was a little something different, intense and subtle at the same time. Totally unsettling, I would have loved to have been able to point it out to her, to say something like "anata no kōsui wa subarashī desu" (your perfume is exceptional). Alas, these days it's the rule to have to be careful about everything you say or do about others, especially as a man (the proof is that even here, in these few lines of text, there's plenty to feed the ill-thinking souls... but it's the one who’s being accused who pays, rarely the one with the harmful thoughts). In short, I got off the train, without paying the compliment I wished to give, and wandered the streets, backpack slung over my shoulders, camera in hand, scrutinising the colours, moods, lights and reflections on the walls of the Yodobashi Camera district, with its big neon signs from another era.
This was obviously followed by a visit to the store specialising in photographic equipment (Yodobashi is the largest chain of shops specialising in electronic and technical equipment, located in Japan's biggest cities, often close to one of the main railway stations. The shops in Shinjuku are by far the best stocked, especially for film and digital photography. You'll find absolutely EVERYTHING. A photographer's paradise, hell for his bank account). Fortunately, my current situation doesn't allow me to deviate in any way, so all I did, exceptionally, was look, compare and fantasise about certain products.
Then I took the train back to Akihabara, then Asakusabashi, to see some leather goods shops (which I'd love to master and know how to use to make wallets, bags, pouches and other accessories for travellers...). The street that runs alongside the Shobu-Line metro station is very well stocked with raw leather, offcuts, tools and accessories - a veritable Ali-Baba's cave, spread over 4-5 shops under the 'And Leather' banner.
And finally the day ended with an hour's train journey back to Narita, a meal in a restaurant opposite my hotel, a good shower and some stupid videos on youtube...
Another day in the life of a digital nomad in search of his identity...
