わびしい夜

静かな夜の動悸、あまりにも喧しすぎる。人を狂わせるほどだ。絶えず寝返りをうつばかりで、寝られない。不意に君のことを思い出した…遥かの過去に振り返って、顧みる余裕さえない忙しい大学生活にはまったと思ったのに。

忘れたくないって言ったくせに、今さら忘れたい。いつまで居座るつもり？君のことを記憶から脱却したいもん。だって、この胸が痛くて、もうはやはじけるようだから。堪らない。が、残酷な現実に、忘れようとすればするほど、忘れられない。それが空しい人間の癖だ。

人生って、出会いと別れの連続だ。たまにただの知り合いから微妙な始まりへ、そして受け入れないほどの唐突な終わりへ。まだ憶えてる。君の言ったこと、僕の約束事、僕らのわがまま。

「何のその」って？ちがうっ！全ては空々しいような気がする。あの嘘・空約束・傷つけ合いに、少なからず気になる。いくら「大丈夫」って言っても。

恋の醍醐味を味わった上で、常にいずれしまいがやってくることに覚悟すること。でも、この世の中には、変わらないものがあるとすれば、それは僕の無力だ。現実から逃げようとして、顔を覆って、涙を飲み込む。だけど、一旦首をかしげると、またいやな思い出が湧いてくる。まだまだ切ない日々…

わびしい夜は延びてゆく…

Panoramic Views: Bayside Tokyo and Around

These photos were taken on 13 March 2007. Without using a tripod, some of them ended up with a leaning-tower-of-pisa effect... Gah!

佃島 (Tsukudashima: Literally, "Rice Field")

浜離宮庭園 (Hama Rikyū Teien: A beautifully-designed garden for the Shogun to hunt ducks)

竹芝通り (Port near Takeshiba Dōri)

レインボーブリッジ (Rainbow Bridge: A suspension bridge spanning 550m)

お台場 (Odaiba: An artificial island originally built to protect Tokyo from attack by sea)

未来館 (Miraikan: National Museum for Emerging Science and Technology)

From Tsukiji to Odaiba: Bayside Tokyo and Rainbow Bridge

And so the journey to Odaiba on foot continued. Stopped by at Hama Rikyū Teien on the way.

浜離宮庭園, Hama Rikyū Teien

Half-way from Tsukiji to Rainbow Bridge, is Hama Rikyū Teien, a garden designed for the shogun to hunt ducks.

It's a stark contrast between the landscape in the traditional garden and the bustling city outside.

This place, used to be a pier offers a beautiful view of part of bayside Tokyo.

Spring is in the air.

There you go! This is one of my favourite photos.

Random shot 01

Random shot 02.

Random shot 03.

竹芝通り, Takeshiba Dōri
These photos were taken on the way to Rainbow Bridge.

Leaving Hama Rikyū Teien.

A ship in the dock. At the background is Rainbow Bridge.

The following random shots are randomly named.

Random shot 01: Chained to the Depths of the Past

Random shot 02: A Sculpture of Solitude

Random shot 03: Sailing Away

Rainbow Bridge
Rainbow Bridge, at last.

Completed in 1993, the suspension bridge links to Odaiba.

Yup. There're walkways on both sides of the bridge, open to people insane enough to opt to cross the bridge on foot.

Heavy traffic. Noisy. Polluted air. But it was a small price to pay for panoramic views like these:

Tokyo Bay.

Tokyo Tower. And if weather permits, even Fujisan.

Used to be the tallest landmark in Tokyo, it's now dwarfed by other sky-scrapers.

It took me a total of 50 minutes to cross the 570-meter bridge. Not too far, but seemed like an eternity.

A friend once commented that this is a romantic landmark. But to come here alone is kind of too pitiful. Once is enough, I guess. Unless if someone eventually invites me, "Darling, let's go for a walk. On Rainbow Bridge."

- March 13, 2007, Tuesday -

From Tsukiji to Odaiba: Tsukiji and Around

One word sums it all. くっそ (kuso)! No internet connection at my apartment because there's not free port. Didn't expect such a thing to happen in Japan. But of course, there's an alternative: go for fibre optics... Yeah, if only it doesn't cost 3 times as much as ADSL. Out of the question.

Yet, there's still another way. 0 yen wi-fi in my kitchen. The only thing is that I need to keep the door slightly opened in order to catch the weak signal. But, what can I say? It's free, hah! Anyway, there's not much time for surfing at all. Better this way, I guess. Saves money, and no waste of time.

Well, just to upload some photos taken more than a month ago, when I was crazy enough to set off for Tsukiji by the last train, catching a short nap in a 24-hour restaurant, and walk all the way to Odaiba.

築地, tsukiji
(The following photos are not posted in the order they were taken because I was basically wandering here and there, not sure of where to go at first.)

The biggest seafood wholesale market in the world. Auction starts as early as 5 in the morning. But, activities start long before that. This photo was taken at 0:27am.

The place is not officially opened to the public... Because there were various incidents where curious got rammed by motorized carts like this one here.

Tsukiji is also said to be the best destination for sushi. But for people with an untrained tongue like me, there's no way of telling good sushi from bad sushi.

This is also where you get fresh seafood at bargain prices.

Not affordable for poor ryugakusei like me, though. There were also frozen tunas which resembled torpedoes. Didn't get any photo on that, unfortunately.

Eating by the roadside, it feels almost like the hawker stalls in Penang.

At present, they're talking about relocating the fish market to a new place. But the proposal is being heavily protested by the traders.

築地本願寺, Tsukiji Hongan-ji

An Indian-styled Buddhist temple located right opposite the Tsukiji Station.

The temple was rebuilt in Tsukiji after its predecessor in Asakusa was burnt down in a fire.

Random shot 01.

Random shot 02.

佃島, Tsukudashima
A diversion from Tsukiji, across Sumida River. "... the area has a history stretching back to 1613 when a group of Osaka fishermen were settled on the island by the shogun. In addition to providing food for the castle, the fishermen where expected to report on any suspicious comings and goings in the bay."

The view by Sumida River, at 5am, before dawn.

Dawn, in Tsukudashima.

Sunrise.

Random shot 01.

Random shot 02.

Random shot 03.

More photos coming up in: From Tsukiji to Odaiba: Bayside Tokyo and Rainbow Bridge.

- March 13, 2007, Tuesday -