Well, I made it, on time and in time to the conference presentation. It was the third one this year, though the first I've done to this association and the first I've done in Japanese. There is always a little added pressure when presenting in front of colleagues, either in English or Japanese, or it might just be undue pressure I put on myself. Whichever way you look at it, it has been a bit tiring and now the presentation is over, the tiredness sets in...
After the conference finished late this afternoon, I opted to get out at Shinjuku station rather than just transfer directly to my end destination. (I did that a bit later.)
The weather was pretty awful, rain set in mid-afternoon, but perhaps it was the talk about starting my serious engagement with Japan that set the nostalgia wheels turning. You see, it was in Shinjuku, back in 1984, where I first took formal lessons in Japanese in Japan (after some years in Australia) on the start of a long road to an academic career.
The Sumitomo Building housed the cultural centre that trained young wannabe graduate students (and also the site of my first earthquake experience --25 floors up). I thought I might take the opportunity, since I was 'passing through' to 'have a squiz' as they say.
Low and behold, the Sumitomo building is undergoing some renovations...
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| The Mitsui building |
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| Sumitomo, with corner leaf |
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| Tokyo Metro Government building |
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| Olympic city |
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| Looking through the complex |
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| Shapes |
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| Side by side |
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| Umbrella |
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| All the skyscrapers |
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| Probably the most-photographed Shinjuku building |
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| Forecourt |
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| The rain |
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| More umbrellas |
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| Shades of brown |
A number of buildings from the old days are still there, but there are new ones too and the Shinjuku Eye seems to have been there forever...that is always keeping an eye on us.
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| The Eye |
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| ...watches |
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| ...all those who pass |
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| looking |
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| watching |
With the conference now over, normal programming resumes. Whatever normal might be.
[Camera : Lumix TZ-85, 5.53pm-6.11pm; 18 June 2017]
