I nod and smile at a uniformed policeman, he bows back an even deeper bow. I am humbled and pleased by this sign of respect. Respect seems to be a dominant characteristic of this Polite Japan, even in this most Europeanized of Japan’s cities. So far, the familiar Japan in the europeanized Tokyo is delightful. I drink in each treasure. Our own glimpse of unfamiliar Japan continues. We’ve planned a trip walking along the Nakasendo, the ancient route from Tokyo to Kyoto.
The first charm of Japan is intangible and volatile as a perfume — Patrick Lafcadio Hearn, 1894
First Impressions of Tokyo
More than a hundred and twenty years ago, Patrick Lafcaido Hearn, whose musings about Japan seem fresh today, opined on the charms of Japan in his series of books “Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan”. Although I spent time as a child in Kindergarten in Kobe, Japan, Japan is unfamiliar to me, and yes, quite charming. Continue reading “Tokyo: Kichijoji”
Robert Cosmos 