Piano Man

You'll have to excuse the long entry, today felt like one of the best days of my life.

Woke up around 3:30 this morning due to the cold. I left the tunnel in search of a warmer spot and wound up near the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building where I managed to get some sleep. As the sun was rising I headed over to the park where a large gathering of elderly people were doing their morning exercises.

Afterwards I walked to Shinjuku station and watched the world go by for a bit. I saw a few of the homeless guys carting trays of crushed tin cans for recycling, I think they only make about 300 Yen/kg.

I decided to find a place to stay as the whole street life thing was beginning to get in the way of the photography. To be honest I think it was the exhaustion from two freezing nights with limited sleep that was the biggest problem.

I managed to get a hold of my old friend from Aus, Aura, and arranged to meet her in Shibuya. As I was waiting for them I spoke to an American guy who had been teaching English in Japan for 13 years. I had forgotten the simple pleasure of being able to speak in your native tongue.

Eventually Aura arrived and she showed me around Shibuya. We headed to a small jewellery store to buy a ring for her girlfriend, Shiromi, and as part of the bargaining deal, we were given 12 lucky dip entries. She asked me to do half of them and we got through 11 duds. The last one was mine and I sarcastically gasped as I opened it but I was surprised to see we had won the top prize: a twin pass to Disney Land! She was so ecstatic as both her and Shiromi had been wanting to go for quite some time.

After that she was so happy that she insisted on paying for everything as she continued our tour through Shibuya saying that it was thanks to my luck that we had won. We wound up near Yoyogi Park and she told me all about her new life in Tokyo over a couple of beers. With Shiromi being a famous model and popular DJ they enjoy a lively nightlife and celebrity lifestyle together, it all sounded so exciting! Most of all though, it was so nice to have company. After those two short days it had felt like I hadn't spoken to anyone for a month.

I found a cheap hostel near Ueno so after saying goodbye to Aura I made my way north. On the way I came across this man with his piano parked on the street corner under the famous Yodabashi camera store. His playing was atrocious but I admired him for trying to make a living out of the few means that he had. I gave him a donation before continuing on my way. I had a bit of trouble finding the hostel but I eventually got there. I'll tell you now a shower has never felt so good.

Perhaps it's in our nature to take things for granted, but these past few days have been life changing. Appreciating even the smallest things can bring you the greatest happiness.



Minolta X700 Rokkor-X 45mm f/2.0 : Ilford Panf 50