This old scene in Shibuya. . .How many times have I looked upon this barnyard of a crossing? It's funny, I come across a lot of people who find it kind of thrilling to watch, others kind of creeped by it. If you can see the Starbucks directly behind the intersection, you'll see people sitting on the second floor. One of the prime spots for people-watching. From there you can see a world of happenings, and you'll hear the commentary of the folks sitting around you as they watch the same sprawling scene. I've heard more than one girl say "Kimochi warui" as she watched the crosswalk signal turn green, pedestrians filling up the street from all directions. I think for some people it evokes the same feeling they get from watching armies of insects; the sight epitomizes everything that stresses them out about Tokyo life. But others just love it, plain and simple. I guess I'm one of those others.
Felt like coming back here after a small string of coincidental Shibuya sightings on media screens that seemed to be following me around. First, I was riding to work on the Yamanote line and a guy standing behind me was watching the Beastie Boys' "Intergalactic" video on his i-Phone. I can't remember the last time I met a Japanese person here who liked the BBoys. I know a lot of people in their teens and twenties and, so far as I know, that first generation of rappers is not on their radar.
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A little later I was at a friend's house party, and they had Lost in Translation playing. I remember the first time I saw it. At first I felt kind of annoyed, that it seemed like such a tourist's view of the city, the culture. . .Then I remembered that the characters are sort of like tourists. Eventually the story drew me in and I ended up liking both of the main characters. And, hearing it play in the background at the party, I realized how great the soundtrack is. Sofia Coppola knew what she was doing.
You see a bit of Shibuya in this movie, but the main characters are staying in a hotel in Shinjuku.
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That same night, I don't even know how I happened upon it, but I clicked on Muse's new video for "Panic Station.
and there it is again, Shibuya.
The 12-year mark of my arrival to Japan is a couple of months away and, well, these anniversaries tend to make me want to summon memories of past beginnings. I don't think it's out of a yearning to go back; it's more matter of measurement. Those old firsts tell me something.
Anyway, one of the things I recall about starting this blog was that I'd do my best to avoid using it to talk to myself. The rule I made was to try to include in every entry at least one piece of information that might be helpful to someone coming to Japan for the first time, or thinking of coming here. So well, what I wanted to say was if I had to choose somewhere for a first Saturday night in Tokyo, it'd be either Shibuya or Shinjuku. The reason is that I think those places are closest to a lot of the Tokyo we’ve seen in movies and on tv. Whether we love or hate big cities, I think we all have something in us that revels at feeling sort of transported into pictures we've seen.
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