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hot day for getting lost

the journal of Michael Werneburg

twenty-seven years and one million words

I haven't been here long, but I've already seen a number of "Tokyo sights", like the old-fashioned small wooden houses, a girl wearing an informal version of a kimono, and drunken young fellow in a suit wearing his tie around his forehead in the prescribed fashion.

I've also mistaken mouthwash for soap while in the tiny washroom at a restaurant (they were both clear blue liquids in pump bottles, so the fault isn't as obvious as it sounds). And I've gotten lost in the maze of small winding one-way streets, despite the fact that I was a pedestrian and within sight of the massive tower where my hotel is.

I've also had extremely cheap sushi from a 'sushi train' style place in a heavily-trafficked alleyway (two of us ate for $21CAD) and even cheap quality bourbon (mmmm, Blanton's). And I now carry a hanky in the fashion of the Tokyoites (Tokyosiders? Tokyo-illians? Tokyonians?) for mopping my brow of sweat as I stumble about the streets.

This city is unusual in my experience for a number of reasons, but I'll quickly list two gimmes. First, there is no real downtown, here. Second, there doesn't seem to be much of a heirarchy to the local streets. That is, laneways don't necessarily feed into small streets which then feed into mid-sized streets which then feed into major streets. Instead, a given stretch of road might suddenly narrow or widen to take on greater volumes at any random point. So, a one-way alley might balloon into a two-way street mid-block, or at one of the countless five-way intersections. The sidewalks tend to be a bit ephemeral as well.

That's it for tonight - it's only 8:30 but I'm lagging bad.

Tomorrow I start work.