Week 26 - In and around Tokyo life resembles the old normal

 Edited BY

GP Kennedy

Ian & Minako – Tokyo

 Hello again from Tokyo, we are both well. It's been so cool that Mt Fuji had its first snowfall of the year, 24 days earlier than last year! There is actually very little reporting of coronavirus news lately, nothing much has changed. The daily average for new coronavirus cases is quite level now, this week at 152 in Tokyo, 25113 in total and there have been 400 deaths – an increase of 10 for the week. Amongst new cases, the largest group are people in their 20s also many 30s and 40s infected. Nationally the daily average has dropped to 435 with 81703 in total and 1547 deaths.

 

 From 1st October, long term visa holders, e.g. “foreign residents” will finally be able to return to Japan if they travel abroad. Also, some business people and students may be allowed in but still no tourists. The number of people allowed in is limited to 1000 per day and they will have to show a negative COVID test result and still self-isolate for 2 weeks.

 

 This past week was ‘Silver Week’, so-called because there were two public holidays: ‘Respect the Aged day’ on Monday and ‘Autumn Equinox day’ on Tuesday so with the weekend it was a four-day break. It’s a good time for people to visit their hometowns and their elderly relatives and also visit tourist attractions. So public transport and popular sites are normally very busy at this time. This year apparently it was quieter but not by a great deal, people are getting back into the habit of traveling and being in crowded places, and apart from the usual masks, distancing and hand-washing there are few restrictions.

 

 We preferred to stay local and enjoyed another trip around our park lake in a Pedalo on Monday afternoon. It was a lovely early autumn day, the park was crowded and we had to queue for a while (which doesn’t happen often) but it was so relaxing to float around in the middle of the lake for half an hour.

 

 On Tuesday we were out all day, starting with a 30-minute walk to the next town, Kichijoji, where we tried some doughnuts (sweet and savory) for lunch at a new pop-up place. We were able to sit outside and there was plenty of space between tables. Oh, and the vegan doughnuts were delicious!

 

 Then a short train ride to Shimokitazawa which is a busy little town, popular with tourists and Tokyoites for its quirky, dare we say trendy, vibe. Although there are no foreign tourists at present, it was indeed very crowded in the small streets around the station but we headed a few minute's walk away to a new place called Bonus Track. It's adjacent to the railway line, an area known as Shimokitazawa Railway Street.

 

 Several buildings have been developed to create a collection of shops, restaurants, co-working spaces, shared kitchens, nursery, gallery, etc. There are many places like this in Japan now, instead of committing to renting full-time premises people can hire short-term for pop-up shops, cookery classes, workshops, events, and so on. It's really cool, we were particularly interested in a shop that specializes in fermented goods such as miso, natto, vinegar, and our current favorite tea, bancha.

 

 The rest of the week has been very wet and quiet, we were all prepared for a typhoon on Thursday but it swerved away at the last minute, thank goodness. As mentioned earlier, very little action on the corona front, wish the same could be said for all the other countries that are suffering at present. Feels like we're already approaching the end of the year. 2021 will be so much better!