Somewhere in Japan

Category: Dispatches

Dispatch № 27: 2,194 Days

Photo of Tokyo showing the construction of a new high rise near Tokyo Tower

Six years I’ve been in Japan. This last Wednesday was my sixth Japaniversary. Rather than reflect on the occasion in my usual way, though, I thought I’d expore that time through numbers.

Dispatch № 26: Cultivated Disorder

A black and white photo of a serene view at Kasumigaura Bay in Tsuchiura, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan

A peaceful setting, but something feels strange. If I pay attention to ambient noises, what I hear most are the small sounds of the water, the wind rustling the tall grasses to my left, and a violent, gasoline-fuelled roar at a moderate distance.

Dispatch № 25: An Aside

Skyline of Tokyo, looking in the direction of Azabujuban from Roppongi

Indulge me, if you would, and let me have a bit of an aside for today’s entry. The last couple of weeks have been incredibly intense and have contained both some of the most trying and most amazing moments of my life.

Dispatch № 24: A Festival Built For Two

Photograph of David and his wife at a summer festival in Nerima Ward, Saitama City, Japan

Last summer, they canceled all the local festivals because of the pestilence at large. Though vaccinations are happening now in Japan, it’s slow going, and I suspect summer festivals will fall victim to the plague for a second year.

Dispatch № 23: The Thinness of Walls

Photograph showing the corner of a traditional Japanese room with tatami mat floor, closet door, and typical textured wallpaper

On Tuesday at 4:56 AM, an earthquake woke us. Not especially strong, but it seemed to last a long time. I reached over, took Mayumi’s hand, and we laid there wondering how long the shaking would continue.

Dispatch № 22: The Laundry Forecast

My bathmat drying outside, only it got rained on and froze solid

A long metal pole has invaded my living room on several occasions. Supported with a camera tripod on one end and a light stand on the other, it is always festooned with sodden garments that didn’t make it inside before the rain arrived.

Dispatch № 21: Windblown

Photo showing plants hanging in front of a concrete retaining wall, with curved marks showing the movement of the plants in the wind

Air is only visible to us through its interactions with the world. We all know the sound of the wind in the trees and the gentle swaying of branches. We see ripples on ponds and watch autumn leaves swirling on blustery days.

Dispatch № 20: Ghosts and Moonlight

Statue of Kannon in moonlight in Kawagoe, Saitama Prefecture, Japan

If ghosts exist, I am likely in their midst, sitting as I am between the main hall of a seventeenth-century Buddhist temple and the large cemetery just next to it. If they’re here, though, they’re not letting on.

Dispatch № 19: Faster Shoes

Detail of the laces on my old boots

I need faster shoes. Not shoes that make me faster at running or anything like that, but shoes that are faster to put on and (especially) to take off. Living in Japan, I often have to remove my shoes, and if you’re waiting for me, I feel bad for you.

Dispatch № 18: On Two Wheels

Photograph of my Nabiis Alchemy track bike, in Tsuki Park, Saitama City, Japan

The last Saturday of May 2016. It is after midnight, and the two sounds most prominent to me in this moment are the hum of narrow, high-pressure tires on smooth asphalt and the soughing of the balmy, late-spring air flowing gently past my ears. I am keenly aware of the hush of my surroundings as I roll slowly, meanderingly through my neighborhood in the dead of the night.

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