For part of the day today, I found myself walking down the streets of the 'nishi guchi' (West Exit) of the Shinjuku Station. I spent quite a bit of time here in my early days in Japan, as a language student in one of the tall buildings this particular district is known for. It was interesting to be walking down the streets to the central park (Chuo Koen) given that for many years now Ikebukuro has been my 'home' station and I don't have reason to spend a lot of time here anymore.
Thirty years ago as a fresh graduate of Japanese Studies, I was surprised, really, to see so many homeless men along the subway. Chuo Koen is, sadly, these days a main space for people (I saw one family there today) who have really fallen on hard times*.
There was a march on there today, people marching against racism, against hate speech, seeking a better place; a lot like some of the marches we've seen in Australia of late.
I spent a bit of time wandering around the park and back to the station before my next engagement. It was interesting, and a different side of Tokyo today.
Here's just a few pics...
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| On the way to the shops |
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| Some of the public art |
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| Shinjuku buildings, the local government offices |
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| One of my favourite buildings, the Node Gakuen Cocoon Building |
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| A very cleaned up passage to the nishi guchi |
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| A hint of ...well, new shoots really. |
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| Sculpture garden |
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| Moss on a trunk |
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| Cosmos garden |
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| A little closer |
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| Chuo Koen gardens |
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| Looking the other way... |
*I've not taken pics of the people today, out of respect. I expect they don't like being subjected to such voyeurism. [I also prefer to respect my visa conditions...]
[Camera : Canon EOS 60D, 100-300mm, iPhone 6, 3.00-3.36pm]
