return of the nightwalker : October 10 2024

it is a comeback indeed. i have previously blogged that i had a short vacation back in the philippines last september, and although i have been back in tokyo for quite some time now, either i have been feeling under the weather or the weather was literally downpouring. i had no choice but to stay indoors. this is the first outside walking experience after the break and my little feet were giddy about it.

drizzles that afternoon dissuaded me a bit, i had little hope this walk would even happen. but the very last minute the skies stood still, it was a chance to finally get out. and so i did. who am i to say no, right?

so i just walked and walked on this wednesday night, without any pressure of going somewhere or attaining something. i just wanted to walk. i know of the general direction, but i have no planned destination. passed by some small shrines by the side of the road. this part of town is really filled with lots of shrines and temples, not surprised to see a small one at all.

i used some small roads instead of the big ones, small roads are treasure troves of interesting stuff. this french bistro caught my attention, the tone marks gave it away. i wonder how the english language would have been if tone marks were not omitted till this day. would that have aided in the proper pronunciation of difficult to pronounce words? difficult vowels at least: english is filled with unusual pronunciation rules.

i'm finally out in the main streets, the alleys were so much fun. tokyo has been much colder these past days, i was hesitant to go walking because of that as well. gone were the walking shorts and t-shirts; i had pants and a jacket on. it is officially autumn, it has been for a while now.

finally passed by an old tram, used in the 1950's. before the subways and the overhead trains, trams were the common means of transportation in tokyo back in the days. they were phased out when they caused more traffic congestions over the years. now, only 2 tram lines still remain in tokyo. this was a remnant of those days, and this exact location was once a tram station. i just wished that people could go in the tram car at least during the day to appreciate the relic more. as i could see, it was fenced of just like they do in the museums, but this one was outside just waiting to rot in the open. ikenohata children's park (池之端児童遊園) was more like a bench, a tree, and a fenced tram car.

finally reached the shinobazu pond (不忍池). one part was filled with lily pads in this season. but just look at the sky, so cloudy. just glad it stopped raining. this park is open to the public and anyone can enjoy the pond, one of them just happened to be drunk. and this drunk man shouted at all people who pass by him. scared, i took a longer detour.

finally reached another familiar structure. i have been wondering what this structure really symbolizes. but i couldn't find any article about it in the internet. i probably just don't know where to search but on top of a foot bridge, this looks interesting.

the walk back home consisted of homes and major roads, nothing there to stop or delay my walking. so the walk home had a faster pace. now this first night walk exposed how untrained i have become. i walked for about 10km and my leg muscles started hurting on the last third of the route: i was no longer at my optimal and the pain kept bugging me at that point. but, it was not painful for me to stop my walk all together. but then again, i did have a leg day exercise last monday and it must be because of that as well. it is only the first night walk though, i will have to gather more data.

hope you had fun exploring the city with me.

as always, AMPING KANUNAY