Summer has arrived and so has a wonderful post by Rurousha over at her blog. I have decided to write an ode to both her and summer as it is a season that I have recently grown a fondness to. Note that I am basically rewriting her blog post as if it was my own, so a lot of it will sound similar.
Two Birds in Akasaka
May is when the windows are opened in Tokyo and the great summer breeze flows through the apartments. It is a time to enjoy the cool winds and prepare for the unrelenting stale air of mid-summer.
It is a time when you head to the station hoping that the suit you are wearing doesn’t become see-through due to perspiration. You yearn for June when CoolBiz starts so that you don’t need to wear a tie or a jacket, but then you fear the grey shirt you are wearing will look like it came out of the wash when you reach your destination!
How I Feel in the Summer Heat
The heat and the humidity are still tolerable in June and the rains start to beat down to keep things cool from time to time. You just have to be wary of the people in parasols as you snake your way through the busy streets. No longer do the women only use parasols, but some men are starting to do the same!
Your choice in clothing went from long sleeve shirts and thick jackets to a solitary t-shirt in bright colours that are bright enough to blind every person passing by! You scoff at people who wear shorts as your legs are pale and white and will never have a decent tan unless you head to the beach. Shoes are always constant but flip flops are de riguer for neighbourhood trips.
Beware of this Beer Junkie!
Your skin keeps getting darker and darker with each passing day. You roll up your sleeves and wear sunglasses till you get an unsightly tan. You look like a Danpa (or reverse panda) or some kind of tanuki. You wear it with pride to say that you are an outdoors person and had time to get out into the sun. You don’t care about cancer as life is too short to worry about these things.
You bask in the sun as you type away on the balcony doing work that should be done inside. You can’t help but take the extra few steps to enjoy the “fresh” air of Tokyo.
My Routine in the Park
You head to the park where you plop down with your supermarket lunch, sitting under a tree with the other families on holiday. The kids run all around and water games are played. The old men sit on the benches in the shade enjoying a quiet time away from their wives. The park is alive and you’ll be there every chance you get, unless it is raining.
At night, you head back to the park where instead of watching the people play, you play. You bring a 6 pack, find a bench, and chat with a good friend till the middle of the night. You watch all of the stragglers heading home or jogging in the middle of the night and work on plans to escape the regular 9-5 life you have.
A Midsummer’s Night in the Park
It’s also time to enjoy this wonderful song because you grew up to Uncle Phil being your TV father and Will Smith was a cool rapper that your parents would let you listen to.
Information
- Winter is assault; summer is seduction (Rurousha)
- Danpa News (Official Site)
- Tanuki (Wikipedia)
Waaa! I’m so chuffed I can’t stop grinning like an idiot. I have my own ode!
゜*。♪ｖ(*’-^*)ゞ^；*・’ﾟ☆☆happy♪♪♪♪
But I like yours more. Can I replace my story with yours? 😀
Yes you can, but it wouldn’t sound very good. This is more of the male perspective. 😉
PS: For some reason, I just love that frog pic. I really do feel like that in the summer.
Hey Rurousha! How’s it been going?! Haven’t read your blog in ages but always thinking of you. I’ve tried signing into your blog a few times but it says I don’t have permission anymore to read it and I’m not sure how to contact you to let me in again?
Hi Laurene,
Ru is doing well. I saw her a couple weeks ago. She is just really busy with work and life that she doesn’t have time to blog about it. I’ll try to let her know you said hi. I believe her blog is private now as she doesn’t post anymore. I’ll see if I can get her to say hello here for you. 🙂
Thank you Dru! You’re the best. I had no idea you had a blog until several months ago when I was googling something and I recognised your name from Ru’s blog comments! I admit I was probably a lot more excited that I needed to be and had been slowly working through your past posts to keep me entertained on public transport. Then when I saw Ru comment I was like “I might as well give it a shot. 2 birds, one stone and all that”.
I hope you’ve been going well. I admit I really enjoy your food posts but it does upset me that I’m not able to have any of the dishes you talk about.
Happy you can reconnect with Ru.
More than that, I’m really happy that you enjoy reading the old posts. I can see a huge difference in my writing style and sometimes I want to update them, especially the pictures.
I don’t think I have many food posts coming up, especially in Tokyo. I’m too busy to write about places in Tokyo but on my next trip I’ll try to find something.
It’s always interesting going back to your first work – whether its articles or blogs or whatever – and rereading it! Depending on where you started, there is usually always some cringing involved! 🙂 But don’t change it. It’s part of the charm, seeing the person grow in both their writing and their life.
Where are you mainly based around lately for Tokyo to be so out of the way?
It really is interesting to re-read old posts. You are right, I always cringe at something and I try my best to not change them but I have been modifying some of the old posts recently. I don’t change the writing but I have been modifying the photos to be more in line with what I have been doing recently. This is more to do with the fact that people are starting to use my photos without permission, so it is better to have a larger watermark at the bottom.
For me, I am still in Tokyo but not going out as much. I have a huge project that is taking a lot of my time so I don’t really have time to write posts here. Thankfully I have a huge backlog so there will be lots of new posts for the foreseeable future.
Hello, Laurene! I’m still around, still in Tokyo, still going walkabout with my camera (but not nearly as often as before). I’ve put my blog on hiatus until I decide what to do with it. Current mood: bring it back on line, but don’t focus exclusively on Japan. Or bring it back on line, but don’t add anything to it. It’s good to hear from you again! 🙂 Dru, thanks for letting me know about her message! From the elusive but still kicking Ru 🙂
And you, Miss. Elusive. It is lovely hearing from you again and sad to hear about the blog, but I do understand your thinking behind it. Sometimes one just wants something a bit fresh in your life. How’s it all been going for you, though? Work and walk-abouts and all the other wonderful things in life? I hope the students aren’t driving you too mad, though I admit those moments make for the best stories.
Do let me know about your future plans with the blog otherwise just drop a line to say hello every now and then. I don’t want you disappearing entirely from my life.
Hello Mr. Dru. I had discovered this wonderful and extensive blog of yours long ago and had been following it since…all thanks to Rurousha’s blog. I had been an avid reader of her blog ever since I stumbled upon it( and wished I had done so sooner). The stories in her characteristic witty, vivacious and colourful language and the marvelous photos brought out the most interesting facets of Japanese culture. It is hard to describe the joy reading her posts gave me. I have chanced upon this old article of yours while raking the internet desperately for some ancient scrap of Rurousha’s posts ( the blog cannot be read anymore).I sincerely apologize for seeming obnoxious, but may I presume upon your patience and kindness to place before you my humble request of conveying my deepest gratitude to Ms. Rurousha for her wonderful blog( as I supposed you are in touch with her). I apologize again for my rudeness- for a long time, I had been wanting to thank her for her hard work over the years which had made me fall more in love with Japan, but before I could do so, she had vanished off the internet ;_;
Hi Bipasha!
I know how you feel. I’m still in contact with Ru and will convey your thoughts. She is doing well and still as witty as ever.
Cheers!
Oh my goodness, Bipasha, that’s the loveliest comment I’ve ever received! Thank you so much! I got busy at work, put my blog on hiatus, and here we are, years later. Maybe I’ll write more stories one day when I retire to grow peaches in Yamanashi. Which won’t be long now. :p Watch this space!