by the river sumida this nightwalker sat down and wept: July 26 202...

... wept at the beauty he saw, that is.
well for context, the title is a reference to a paulo coelho book with the river called piedra.
yes, your man here was a reader at some point in his life.
that may be hard to believe but it was true; then technology came and f*cked the brain wirings.
but just look at those reflections and be in awe.

well let me start at the beginning, it was one of the nightwalker journey in the summer of 2024.
summers in japan are notoriously humid, today was no exception even though the sun was already down.
i definitely felt like in was baked in the oven and was thankful for the occasional breeze.

the plan was to traverse the river, i have always wondered if that is possible and how long it would take.
so i immediately headed to a park i once visited which was on the river banks.
i was also excited to see whether the fountain wet area pond was operating.
the last time i visited, i have read that the water flows in the summer.
now is definitely summer, but alas there was no water; water only flowed until 3 pm and is apparently drained out completely.
only a remnant of the children playing in that cold waters could be seen.
i previously wrote about this park, you can check that entry below.

unexpectedly wide ogunohara park: June 20 2024

i went to the river beside the park and started my river cruise; i was on the banks riding on my shoes propelled by my own two feet for this cruise though.
i headed eastward, i have used bits and pieces of this river bank pavement here and there and i know that it is safe.
some may not be brightly lit, but had some lights enough for the eyes to see what was in front.

i finally reached otake bridge, a very familiar one as i have crossed this bridge in many occasions.
in here, i met a roadblock; there was no riverside pavement under the bridge.
i had to go up the streets and find a pedestrian to cross, then headed back to the river side.
it was a bit disappointing, there was no riverbank pavement.

i had to content myself on using a side road, still beside the river but with a high wall obstructing the river's view.
i felt lonely at this point, and it was dark.
it felt like this road was not meant to be walked on; it was a bit dark and very silent.
i was walking in the middle of a tall wall and heavy bush.
i felt the need to constantly check for any snake which might crawl out.
then came another blockage, a padlocked gate.
this time, i'm sure i am not allowed to walk inside; i had to go to the streets again and meet the river from another entry.

after a few minutes of walking past a convenient store and an elementary school with a wide football field with young athletes practicing, i reached the waters again.
there was no obstruction this time, the view was wide and the reflections on the water were great.
it was here where i took the cover photo of this entry.

i walked on further until a familiar paved design, i was here on my very first nightwalker adventure; it was here where the desire to explore the neighborhood at night was birthed.
it was here where i docked my yacht; it was here where i dreamt of owning a yacht.
enough of the dreaming, you can read the very first nightwalker post as follows.

riverbound: June 6 2024

i finally reached another landmark i frequent, senju ohashi bridge.
i cross over this bridge on my nightwalker trips to the north.
it was a different view from below though, these trusses and beams looks so thin and light but they have been supporting the bridge for a long time now.
taking pictures from below is another perspective of a bridge you do not see often.

the walkway was of a similar type until i reached tip of the river where it abruptly bends southwards.
whereas the previous area were deserted except for a couple of dogwalkers, this area over here were bustling with life.
there were so many people jogging and strolling leisurely; this probably due to the high concentration of apartment buildings in the area.
there was also a park in this corner, i could still remember that day when my phone died out when i came to this park for the first time.
i successfully navigated my way without using my phone's map, a feat you do not often do these days.

^{senjushioiri ohashi}

^{suijin ohashi}

i know i was nearing my supposed destination, i initially planned to traverse the river towards the asakusa downtown area where the skytree is located.
that tall tower of light is surely a promising view, i am getting close.

the closer i got, the more mats i saw spread open on the grassy field.
and then i remembered, there will be a fireworks festival tomorrow near the tower.
but i was shocked at how early they take viewing spots: one whole day.
japanese people must really love their fireworks.
last week, there was also a scheduled fireworks display but was cancelled due to poor weather.
i wonder what will happen to this one tomorrow, hope it pushes through; people are already starved to witness a great display for this summer season.

i finally reached shirahige bridge where i have been to once.
i even won a photography contest here in hive thanks to this bridge.
you can check those entries from below.

dazzling shirahige bridge one fine night: June 24 2024

framed and famed tokyo skytree

but the atmosphere this time was different, there were so many blockages and screens in place due to the scheduled fireworks festival.
i had a difficult time navigating the area.
when normally i would just cross the bridge and walk down some stairs to get to the river pavement, this time all access tot he river were blocked.
i crossed the bridge and got lost for a good amount of minutes before i finally had a clue how to proceed.
i walked on an elevated platform, way above the water level; and it was a boring walkway situated under a highway.
views of the river were obstructed and i was sweating profusely as there was little to no wind.
it was a bad timing to have this cruise a night before an event.

until finally reaching kototoi bridge, a place i have not been on.
it had a splendid view of the tower and it had structures with engraved cranes.
i'm sure it would have been a great place to stroll slowly, but it started to drizzle.
i had little to no time to idle, i was in the open without any roof to shelter on in sight.
it was a bad timing to have this cruise on a night with a drizzle.

before getting off though, i had to take a picture of this floating stage.
i think they will launch the fireworks from here.
i never knew that it was on the river and this wide, i guess it had to be wide for the heat to dissipate fast.

as the rain kept on pouring, i decided to cut short my planned nightwalker journey.
i headed to the nearest bus stop and decided to head home.

stepping on a bus, this type was the one where you pay the trip up front with a ticketing machine beside the bus driver.
i used my ticket card but lacked some credits to my surprise.
i handed to driver 10 thousand yen, but the machine only accepts thousand bills.
i had no other money, i asked him if he had some change: none.
i was ready to get off in total defeat, today is not my day after all.
the bus driver said, "tsugi de ii desu", which literally meant "it is fine in the next (stop)".
i honestly thought that he meant that we settle it in the next stop, so went on and sat at the nearest seat.
but on further thought, i realized that there is really no way to settle my fee in the next stop or in any other stop, so he must probably mean that i take this ride free this time.
i was so embarrassed at this point, i was willing for the earth to swallow me whole, but on afterthought, that would swallow the entire bus with me if that does happen.
i was most embarrassed not able to express my gratitude to the bus driver; so when i reached my stop, i tried thanking the bus driver with the usual arigatou.
i just don't know if he heard it but my intentions were without malice.
it was a bad timing to ride a bus without cash credits and no cash.

emotionally wept for the inaptitude, emotionally wept for the series of misfortunes at the end, my sumida river cruise ended.
hope you enjoyed the roller coaster with me on this one hell of a night.

AMPING KANUNAY!