Photographs from a small group of islands
There are several photographs on these pages of old, wonderfully character-lined, ladies. And this woman, without a doubt, is my favourite.
The nation’s men, on the other hand, don’t have quite the longevity of their female counterparts, but at the same time, they don’t do too bad. Like this fella for example. A man whose many years on the planet have left him with a fantastically featured face.
With its busy trains and traffic-congested roads, Tokyo is a great city to navigate by bike; the side streets, sights and a real sense of freedom making even a commute something to relish rather than recoil from.
And if said bike also doubles as a workshop and therefore one’s workplace, it must be even more wonderful.
Despite what the foreign media may say, delays on Tokyo’s trains are not a rarity. Thankfully leaves on the track aren’t usually a problem, but inclement weather, technical issues and sadly suicides, sometimes are. On the whole though, yes, they are staggeringly punctual — pathologically so really.
A system that while admittedly great, at the same time allows for little leeway if one is late; invariably requiring a very imaginative excuse to appease those left wondering and waiting.
Traditional techniques are all well and good, but sometimes, a bit of modern machinery is much easier on the engineers, if not the eye.
