A Must Read Descriptive Short Story: Daily Life in Tokyo

At dusk, the largest city in the world becomes mostly clear, a map of complete desire. Crowds pouring homeward after a long day’s work, following ambient streams in their concrete channels, pulsing through the crowded subways. Everything clean and so vibrantly bright.

38 million passing unexpectedly through the stations of work with very limited sleep. They are waiting for someone, hoping for something. In between the office and pillow, there’s a certain kind of room, and the city too has been patiently waiting— the pubs and markets, fisheries and cafes and everything in between. The demographics are mostly of male descent, yet women flash by as if to represent the fashion capital of the world.

The rules of the city are old but easy to follow — respect and courtesy with an order unlike any other. Just beyond the subway are gambling parlors which flash and bang in an endless frenzy. Arcades are wild while sentos calm the feverish night. Clouds of cigarette smoke roll out the doorways like thick wool blankets.

Beyond these, in the pleasurable wards, men in suits stand at the roadside reflecting a stringent gaze. Beyond the bustling districts there are quiet and compact neighborhoods. The last trains drop off columns of red-faces salarymen. And here is where, finally, the old rules run dry.

Among the sleeping temples, coin laundries and endless bicycles wait for tomorrows venture. You can find this is any neighborhood you wish, simply pick one, and walk it after dark. Safely, on a balcony above the thin street below, a window opens and out reaches a wrinkly pale arm, pulling in the hanging laundry.

There is a chirp of a pulley, a cat watching intently from the elevated ledge. Somewhere children are sleeping, for the night is almost over. This is the city of the future. You notice that nothing is ever stagnant.

This is my entry for the #Travelphotocontest hosted by:

@lightcaptured

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