Friday, October 16, 2015

Getting Stuff Done in Tokyo


In the couple of days before I met up with the other three adventurers, I had some business to get done in Tokyo. The plan was to spend a week in Shikoku, walking part of the Henro pilgrimage. There is one good guide book in English, the most recent edition of which was published 3 weeks before I arrived in Japan. Perfect. All I had to do was find the specialist map bookstore and buy it. I had not anticipated the Fall Equinox National Holiday so my first attempt to get the book was thwarted. I did find it but it was closed for the day. So I returned early the next day, too early in fact for the 10 am opening. (think jet lag) But as an urban sketcher, there is never an issue with waiting around. It is just a fab opportunity to get one more sketch in, which I did.

And then the rest of the day was free for cycling my rental bike all over Tokyo. That was superb. In Japan, everyone rides on the sidewalks so no worries about dodging cars and trucks. It was the first time, in all of the years that I spent in Japan, that I had a feel for how the districts of Tokyo link together. It is a mammoth city and yet relatively flat, so very doable on a bike. Whee!

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