Tales from Inside Japan: Photos and Video of my walk home through Minato-ku 1

Here are pics and vids and I'll try to caption best I can though most speak for themselves.

As for the videos of the forest, that's in Shiba-kouen (Shiba Park) very close to my home and Tokyo Tower. The park is really big (think maybe Central Park in NYC) and beautiful, full of flowers in the right season.

Dusk / Twilight in Japan is a very mysterious time, especially in a forest. There is a sort of mist or haziness that comes that you can't put your finger on. A look into the origin of the word for twilight/dusk "tasogare" in Japanese is essential! It's one of the most beautiful images of old Japan.

The word was originally "tasokare" which was basically a phrase at that time. Imagine a misty foggy dusk in ancient Japan. A girl in kimono is waiting for her boyfriend to return home. She's outside the slatted old house, maybe in the village square, waiting and looking. Over the rounded wooden bridge many people pass, and when she thinks she seems through the mist someone that looks like her boyfriend, she says "kare?" ("him / my boyfriend?").. and the person walking replies "tasokare" which means "who's him?" It's a sort of call and response in the dark and a play on sounds. As the word means dusk, it's sort of like the "who's him?" means "it's only twilight [playing tricks on you]".

AND PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, if a photo looks interesting, click on it to see the full size version. These little pictures do NO justice at all. I don't get money or anything if you click it, just the satisfaction that someone is able to see a little bit of what I see.

Maid cafe sign