The future

Time in Tokyo

"Speed is like a dozen transatlantic flights without ever getting off the plane. Time change. You lose, you gain. Makes no difference so long as you keep taking the pills. But sooner or later you've got to get out because it's crashing. Then all at once those frozen hours melt out through the nervous system and seep out the pores."

Taking a beer and chewing the fat. Those times, no matter how few and far between are the golden times, the priceless moments life has to offer. And sometimes, for strange circumstantial reasons you have to travel halfway around the world, endure times warps and food poisoning just to capture them, yes on camera - but most importantly, in memory.

In February 2019 I had an opportunity to visit my dad and step-mum who'd recently moved to Japan's metropolis, mega-city capital, Tokyo.
Japan had always been on the list and since Dad moved there a year ago I'd been absolutely dying to go. I honestly didn't know what to expect, when I booked my ticket it seemed so unreal, so far away that I don't think it dawned on me until the night before I flew.

At the other end of the 12 hour flight (a process that feels to me like what I imagine jumping hyperspace or being sucked through a wormhole would feel like, albeit a very comfortable wormhole as I had the pleasure of flying BA World Club) and fuelled on the remnants of Champagne, Jack Daniels, about six breakfasts and a choc ice, I managed to find a taxi and handed him Dad's address. I'd had it translated into Japanese by a work colleague (at the time I worked for a Japanese company). The driver popped my luggage in the boot of his ultra modern take on the Black Cab and whisked me off on the 30 minute ride to Atago.

It was Sunday, sunny and local time was in the region of 8am, my body didn't know this, it still thought it was 11pm... the night before. I suddenly thought of a scene from one of my favourite films, Marwood shaving in the bath...

The rest of the day was like a dream. I sat in Dad and Iris' flat, 34 stories high - overlooking what seemed like the whole of Tokyo, my lofty vantage point as high as heaven itself. Time for lunch - or was it a tea? I had a rare cooked pork chop and a lot of cake. My brother and I joked that jet-lag feels a bit like "being up all night at a rave" which tied in nicely with me thinking about the Withnail & I quote. It most certainly isn't a walk in the park that's for sure.

The following morning I ate something, I don't know what but it didn't agree with me. I was bedridden for 24 hours.

I woke on the Wednesday feeling just fine and raring to go. The following photographs are just a fraction of what I took and show only the tip of the iceberg of my time in Tokyo. You'll see images from inside Canon Global Headquarters in Shimomaruko on the bank of the Tama river. When I visited I worked for Canon and thought I'd get lots of kudos when I returned to work. I didn't, but that's a whole other story.

My ramblings took me to Shibuya and the famous Scramble crossing, the Meiji Shrine where I saw two weddings. I went to Shinjuku and saw the incredible neon clad high-rise shops stretching into the night sky, I got lost in Golden Gai and ate ramen with an intensely salty, umami anchovy broth at Nagi and drank a beer with my brothers. I saw the Blade Runner noodle bars on the streets, I saw projected, digital art at teamLab Borderless in Koto City over the Rainbow Bridge and Hokusai Updated at the Mori Arts Center Gallery in Roppongi Hills. Whislt in Ropongi I visited the Fujiflim gallery and ate more noodles, damn I even went to the gym with my dad and did a kickboxing session with Brian from Colorado. I spent some good time with my brother's and their partners and my lovely little niece - who were also visiting at the same time as me - and I had a good catch up with my step-mum, who has her work cut out for her with her assignment, but perhaps the best thing, the nicest, most meaningful aspect of the trip was just hanging with my dad. He's retired now but is making the most of his time in this fascinating country. So when Iris was at work and my brother's and their families were out exploring... I just chilled with dad.

What a place Tokyo is. I didn't even get a chance to leave the city to find a mountain or forest or a lake. I will... next time. Enjoy the photos and please... like, share and leave comments.