Today I failed a lot.

Shrine to the traffic goddess in the backstreets of Akasaka


View from Roppongi Hills


Fountains in a park between Akasaka and Roppongi



Dining in a stand-up sushi bar in Shibuya




Today I failed a lot.



I had set out to photograph the changing of officer shifts at a police sentry set up near a construction site in Minato City, where Temple University Japan is located. One officer stands guard, and is replaced by another at 3:40 in the afternoon. They salute each other and bow with the characteristic Japanese formality. I witnessed it yesterday walking back from lunch, and it was so peculiar a scene I checked my watch and vowed to return the next day to capture it on film for my Temple News column. So I revisited the site today at 3:30 in the afternoon, stood behind the officer on the street corner, and waited. There were people weaving past me as they cross the street. Construction workers walked back and forth carrying signs, hoses and steel drums from their trucks. Then a bus full of police officers backed up behind the sentry point, requiring several officers just to waive it, and a few more to alert pedestrians of the loud, several-ton vehicle, lest it somehow elude their sight.

The replacement arrived at 3:40. The picture came out blurry.

Another failure: I went to the Shinjuku district to buy a tripod for my camera after classes and stupidly forget to bring a map, or even print out the address of the store I planned to visit. I didn't find the store. Shinjuku holds the largest subway station in the world and it reminded me of Tokyo's version of wall street. Every building was tall and shiny. Every person was Japanese and dressed in business attire. Tired and frustrated at myself as I was for aimlessly wondering around, it reminded me of Burt Reynold's line in Deliverance--"Sometimes you have to get lost before you find anything." (Forget about his character later being hopelessly marooned in the Mississippi backwoods and sexually molested by inbred mountain people.)

I fell short on capturing photos and buying a tripod today. Tomorrow I will wait at the corner with the police sentry in Minato City at 3:40 with my camera. Then I will return to Shinjuku, this time with a map and the address of the camera store.

On Monday I visited the Minato City hall office with some friends after class to apply for the mandatory alien identification card and national health insurance. It had been raining since I walked to school that morning. By the time we left the city hall office in the early evening it had been updated to a typhoon.

Down the street from the Minato city hall is the Zojoji Buddhist temple, just one of countless centuries-old relics of Yamato to be found in every corner of Tokyo's metropolitan sprawl.

The Tokyo Tower can be seen behind the Zojoji Buddhist temple.

The rain fell at a slant like arrows. A monk in blue rubber boots ran up to us and gave my two friends umbrellas. I managed to snap a few shots with the help of my friends, who held my umbrella over my camera, but the lens fogged up. I will have to return for more when I pick up my alien registration card from Minato City Hall next week.

Another spot I will be frequenting more is the Shibuya neighborhood. Shibuya is like the Times Square of Tokyo, with millions of people crossing its main intersections every day. It is exciting enough during the day, but it transforms into a neon lit monster of a place by night. Unfortunately the rain cut my last visit short. Until then I will be doing a lot of writing, learning Japanese, photographing and playing online chess.