Zōkyō

Shinjuku was the first place I fell in love with in Japan. Doc took me there three years ago on my first day in Japan. She took me to the top of Tokyo Tocho where I first witnessed the never-ever-ever-endlingness that Tokyo is. I went back to Shinjuku three or four times in those short few days.

What I loved about was its severe urbanity. Its the most city a city can get. Few people live there but it is the keystone of the pyramid on which the entire Japanese economy was/is built. Its where the office buildings buzz florescent high about neon where their salarymen and office ladies cut loose after working their fucking asses off, deep into the night.

Its the Yakuza in Kabukicho, Yakitori and beer of Omoedeyokocho. Its the Koreans in Okubo, the homos in Nichome, the drunks in Goldengai, and the bums on Yasakuni…. Its the monk in the busiest train station in the world offering prayers for alms. Its the candle lit sidewalk fortune tellers and the parasoled homeless shoe-shine ladies, the karaoke hustlers, the pachinko addicts, the gallery hoppers, the security guards, the reflective coated contruction workers, the tourist, the edoko, and the graffiti. Its the life in the neon…and the neon in life.

There is something for everyone in Shinjuku. Shibuya is too crowded, Ginza’s too expensive, and Ikebukuro is too boring. Downtown is too old, Ebisu and Nakame are too fashionable, Odaiba is too far, Shimokita is too immature, and Roppongi is just too much. But nobody ever seems to complain about Shinjuku though. Maybe its too dangerous but everybody needs a little danger in their life. It’s everybody’s place for one reason or another.

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