めずらしい

No need for a dictionary to get the definition of mezurashii:*



Antique Japanese autos are a rare sight, let alone a Chevy pickup.

*Rare; unusual; novel

Rainy Day in Jiyugaoka

Umbrella check

Perhaps preparing for the belated typhoon season of 2010. There has only been one to hit Tokyo this year, and had you blinked you would have missed it. The second is predicted this weekend.

Window Shopping

I am spending too much time in Jiyugaoka, as shop owners seem to know more about me than I do myself.

Yesterday a young fellow stepped out of one of the shops and asked me all the standard questions---"Where are you from" and so on---and then asked "Do you take photos around here often? "Yes, a few times a week," I answered. "Every Saturday and Sunday," he replied. Then he told me that he thought it was a good place to take photos, which I suppose might explain why I go there so often. It's a bit different than most areas of Tokyo.

Preparations

Only in Japan: Four seasons

Said to be only country with four distinct seasons---a fact that tends to surprise people who come from other countries with four distinct seasons. I wouldn't call the weather "fall-like" yet, according to the standards of my home, but it is certainly very distinct from the scorching summer weather we had this year.

BALS-y

And no doubt about it.

This friendly lady stepped out of the shop, saw me taking photos and gave me a perfect pose and a nice smile. What else can a man ask for?

Taken on a pleasant Indian summer Sunday in Jiyugaoka. Has to be one of the most interesting little parts of Tokyo.

Out for a quick lunch in Marunouchi

At least I was not prohibited from taking a photo here, something not always permitted in the area. I'd avoid the Mitsubishi building, which for some reason (terrorists? corporate espionage?) is entirely off limits to photography.

Sayonara

Japan's hottest summer ended yesterday with a bang. The 71st day of 30-plus degree temperature in Tokyo this year. Today it was about 20, with rain.

tsukareta...mou ii !

Okonomiyaki again

I can hardly pass by this okonomiyaki place in Jiyugaoka without stopping to look at all of its old signs and posters. I think that they were put up to enhance the old look of the place. If so, they have done an excellent job.

I don't know how the okomomiyaki is, but just the looks of the building makes me wanna try it.

Aasu mosquito coils

Just when I thought autumn would never come, Tokyo has cooled just a bit since the typhoon of a few days ago. "Cooled" being relative as I would have never considered 87 degrees as cool until after I had enjoyed 6 or 7 Tokyo summers. Who knows, perhaps I'll join the crowd and consider 55 degrees cold.

But it is a bit cooler and the sun is changing to a more autumnal position. The shadows are getting longer and afternoons seem to be developing a more "golden" cast.

Perfect timing for the weekend festival in Okusawa, Tokyo.

To work, Ladies!

On Saturday morning, I was hanging around an alley in Jiyugaoka---oh, that sounds a little weird---and at about 10AM a group of 6 or 7 ladies marched up and suddenly stopped a few meters away. At first, I was pleased that I had stopped a group of nice-looking ladies in their tracks with my mere presence. Then the lady with the clipboard began handing out instructions.

Within a few seconds, they had all disappeared inside in what seemed like an attack on the department store. I have no idea what it was all about, but they sure looked very serious. They even forgot about me.

September

After the hottest August in Tokyo since 1946, September---with its promise of cool, crisp autumn nights and mild warm days---sans the promise of cool, crisp autumn nights and mild warm days has arrived in Jiyugaoka, Tokyo. Another 34 (95F) plus degree day.