Extreme zen state in the middle of winter Tokyo
What is tokyo? Tokyo is the capital of Japan, says one if they ask him in a moment, unprepared on the street, any day. "It is a big city", follow mechanically, "A lot of people live, there are masses of Japanese crossing zebra crossings, having soups in the corners, dressing up as lolitas and schoolboys, and, good, a lot of noises, horns, cries, mermaids, malls… a chaos ", Case. For not. Turns out not. Tokyo is more like the bottom of the sea, where a lot of fish go in the same direction without brushing, than to the cinematographic stereotype of a megalopolis of the year two thousand.
Tokyo is more like the bottom of the sea, where a lot of fish go in the same direction without brushing
The "tokiots" (that says Wikipèdia, the RAE does not collect the name) are more than 36 million and live articulated in 23 neighborhoods that occupy 621 Km2. According to estimates by Citypopulation and the UN, it is nothing less than the most populated urban agglomeration in the world followed by New York and Mexico DF. In light of this ranking, one would almost with horror imagine that Tokyo decibels exceed the human ear., that the Japanese swarm by pushing and that anarchy, bag pulling and run over reign in the city. It is true that perception depends on the moment of the traveler, of the days and neighborhoods that I frequent, of his vital spirit, Company, of his world, of what dreams, what you fear, what he loves ... but beyond that, what I mean is ... that the tranquility and peace of Tokyo surprise, like others it is surprising that people do not play soccer on the streets of Brazil.
I arrived loaded with coats and maps, convinced that I would get lost several times and that my guides, a heterogeneous and varied group of friends, would end up deciding to disintegrate until nightfall as, in effect, it happened. And what a trip without order, without external planning and without organization of any kind it became as if by magic in a harmonious journey, no doubt thanks to the secret order that underlies the highways and the fields and alleys of Japan.
Symmetrical trails and glacial rebirth
Memory, eg, that the day I was about to visit the Shinjuku Gyoen garden someone told me that there was "a kind of trail in the surroundings". "It's like a weekly market, people bring their products and sell them, there are second-hand things ", I explained, so I got on the warpath ready to fight with old men, young people and children to get the most affordable cup of tea or the ideal kimono and oh! Surprise!, What order the one in that market! What symmetry of the trailers of street hotdogs, the rows of vintage bags! the second-hand clothes are in good condition ... but they seemed fresh from the factory. I was so impressed that I could only buy a pair of leather gloves that I still keep delicately as if Kenzo himself had sold them to me and some colored papers that I am a bit sorry to use and that they travel with me from one house to another without know very well how long they will last.
An exhibition of figures sculpted by Michelangelo of the ice decorated the main avenue
I know that from the trail I crossed to the park hoping to see some decomposed weeds, but there the symmetry received me again: an exhibition of figures sculpted by Michelangelo of the ice decorated the main avenue where a few Japanese and silent tourists walked saying from time to time “Oh!!” “¡Ah!"Before such glacial beauty. Dragons, princesses, samurai and horses with ice wings escorted visitors as they passed through the park's streets, aesthetically accompanied by posters with fabulous watercolors in which the meaning of the sculpture was indicated, the author's intention.
Some days after, in another park, I could understand that the calm of the passersby around the ice sculptures was not occasional, that the solemnity of the discreet and silent walk was not due so much to the proximity of the beautiful work as to the nature of the Tokyoite again. East of town, In what comes to be one of many bordelines between high-tech and more rural traditionalism is the temple of Sensô-ji in whose surroundings there are countless stalls where the master cookie makers proliferate. Again a gentle energy, a manifest joy but at idle, a soft wave of colors emphasized by some fugitive sunbeam in a quiet murmur background. Smells of incense in the background, vendors strive to make the packaging more neat, there are dogs, children and young people running around but there is no excessive noise, no abrupt cuts in anything, neither rudeness nor nothing but tranquility and cold.
Colors and fashion and bar cigarettes
They say that behind this urban affability and this character of stealthy minnows hide millenary repressions that the minnows themselves sporadically let out when leaving their mechanical jobs in sad and lonely karaokes of the city. Can be. It is possible that beyond the Zen appearance there are several individual underworlds that one does not know or that can be dismantled. And perhaps that is why in terms of freedom it seems that the city opens up to certain spaces of relaxation and ease that constitute one more surprise..
I liked Tokyo, I liked its emancipated atmosphere and its vital tranquility
In cafes you can smoke, eg, and it is not uncommon to see customers who leave their purse open or their latest generation mac book air on the table while they go to the bathroom or to order a tea. Citizens of different ages are dressed in colors, daring, which shows a lightness that does not exist in many European cities, and one can even dress up to put on a show on the street or sell household products. Fashion stores bring out the most picturesque stalls, of luminous necklaces, of glitter nail polish or colored underpants and even the dog's coats go beyond the line of ornamental measure.
I liked Tokyo, I liked its emancipated atmosphere and its vital tranquility, reminds me more of London than Jakarta or Beijing. Lonely Tokyoites may need to have several sakes in karaoke after work, but what the city inspires is above all the desire to be more authentic and calm and to march through life to the rhythm of the seabed.
Comments (6)
Javier Brandoli
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After reading this, more desire to go to Tokyo than the many that I already have. Thanks Laura!
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chals92
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Demolishing stereotypes… I love! 🙂
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Ricardo
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Well met Laura! I loved it and if they sell beer at the bottom of the sea, as in Bikini Bottom, I'm sure I'll drop by Tokyo sooner rather than later. Bs
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Cristina and Mathurin
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What a wonderful picture, Dear Laura: here we read you these two little fish that would also like to swim in sake.
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Israel
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I really liked the story!!. Congratulations.
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It
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As you have always transported me to another world, yours, to see reality with your eyes. Never stop writing, please.
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