Week 38 - By the end of 2021...Tokyo Edition

Edited BY


G P Kennedy


Ian and Minako - Tokyo, Japan


We'll all be a year older and most of us will be a year wiser having lived in the new normal world for a while.


We will probably still be waiting for our anti-COVID vaccinations.


There are 36 million people aged 65 or over here and Japan is slow getting started on a vaccination program being very cautious about giving regulatory approval to the new vaccines.


Just like last winter, there will hardly be any cases of flu proving that the anti-corona measures also stop the spread of other viruses. Hoping that hand washing, mask-wearing, and social distancing will continue to be practiced in the flu season in the post-anti-COVID vaccinations times.


Or will we feel undressed if we're not wearing our masks everywhere except at home, feel unclean if not washing our hands frequently, and claustrophobic if we’re less than 2 meters away from other people anyway?




The 2020 Tokyo Olympics, postponed until 2021 may have finally taken place.


Probably massively downsized but overall a great and uplifting event, it would be a brief but global distraction from the ongoing pandemic.


We are optimists. The crowds may have returned to major sporting events but try not to hug each other or shout too much. 


By the end of 2021, we will be feeling liberated being able to take Public transport to get around without feeling nervous, reunited with friends and family over nice meals and we will be back on the cultural circuit, catching up on various exhibitions including those which have been postponed and galleries we’ve yet to visit in the Tokyo area and beyond. 


We will have had our annual health check-ups which we missed in 2020 because we felt unsafe to even go to hospitals! If all goes well we may even have visited the dentist and optician and feel that this is a major achievement.




We will have experienced another cycle of all four seasons, 24 mini-seasons and 72 microseasons, recording as much as we can on our cameras and posting a lot on Instagram.


The cherry blossom season is particularly splendid after a harsh winter.


Spring and autumn will have been as glorious as ever and the summer as hot as usual but bearable.


Fewer and quieter cherry blossom parties in early April but the late summer and autumn festivals could be huge and signaled a welcome return to almost normal life. We will be planning some trips for 2022, possibly even to foreign lands!


By the end of 2021, there may not be much to say about the coronavirus pandemic anymore, we will be coming out from hibernation, busy making up for what we had missed out, making plans for what we can enjoy, and wondering what exciting world awaiting us. Let us hope so!

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