Today, I went for a study stroll in one neighborhood near the university. This was part of the class I'm taking this semester. We have to pick one community and make an assessment of its earthquake and fire hazards.
I spent the whole morning with my group rummaging
Ebaramachi. Our assigned community is still part of Tokyo. But looking at the pictures however, they look like as if they are not part of the city anymore.
However, I realize that these images are what make Tokyo real. These old parts, tattered yet rich of stories from the old people living in the neighborhood, constitute the actual places where people live, do their market, greet friends on the street, or walk their dogs. I think that it's not Shibuya, nor Ginza that makes you a real Tokyo denizen but these types of neighborhood.
The whole time we were looking around, I can't help but feel this feeling that I'm home, I'm at home among these streets or that these streets feel like home. Funny, you might think of me. And weird. Haha... But I really don't know why. It just feels right.