Tokyo on the Train
Daughter and I have just arrived home from another flying visit to Tokyo. As I was only in town for a couple of weeks it was a very busy time squeezing as much into each day as I could, most days spent zipping from one side of the city to the other. That’s the way I like it though, Tokyo is a city in constant movement, it’s a place to stay busy and on the move, a roaring metropolis. But it’s also a place of fascination and beauty, filled with oases to dip into for much needed pauses.
What I love about Tokyo is the contrast, on the one hand there’s the sense of being lost in the crushing urban wheels of the city (which in itself can be a very comforting feeling), and on the other there’s the discovery of gems: galleries, shops, cafes and other beacons of serenity and joy. It’s these details that make the difference, though the city is a turbulent machine, it’s filled with portals of tranquility.
On this trip though a lot of my moments of calm were spent on the train, sketching away. From uptown Yamate to downtown Shitamachi, from fashionable Aoyama to suburban Yokohama, I traveled, and observed my fellow travellers. And here are some of them.
