Dull Tones

Though I'm sure it was in part due to the terrible weather, I was pretty horrified by Tokyo's ugly appearance as I sped towards Ueno on the Keisei SkyLiner. Tokyo's uncountable number of brown and cream buildings, cramped roads and oppressive overhead powerlines were more striking thatn in the past. Although full of life and entertainment, there are many parts of Tokyo which lack character and tend to look the same.

A more pleasant scene also caught my eye from the train. I saw a group of small school kids walking along the road. They were unaccompanied and were only 5 years old at the most. Only in Japan, eh.

Although in many senses Japan is like a second home for me, each time I return to Japan I see things more as an outsider. Of course, I was always an outsider. When you live somewhere you tend to adjust to what you see every day so that you don't really see it at all. But when you live somewhere else it makes it that much easier to compare.

Just the other day I was having a conversation with somebody about nationality. I claimed that it didn't really matter to me whether I was English or not. While this is not wholly true it isn't a total lie either. It's not that I have anything in particular against England but I don't always see myself as English. I put this slight lack of English identity down to being half-Chinese, half-Irish. I wonder how I'd feel if I my parents were both British?

Comments

[SaffronSaris]

I'm back from Kansai.
You still in Kanto?

Somehow felt that Kansai is not as trendy as Kanto, esp when I compared Osaka and Tokyo.

Putting up my posts on Kansai too. You're welcomed to drop by :)

[Darren]

Yes, I'm in Tokyo at the moment.

I'm really enjoying my time here now. It was the poor weather that made Tokyo feel extra grim when I arrived.

I'll drop by to check out your posts. Hmm, I must update my own site, too.