a post-blog
If the dreaded Denentoshi line can barely keep up to its preprogrammed schedule on a sunny day, April rains make Tokyo Modernist Order an anachronistic utopian fantasy. The Metro authorities in the past have succesfully filled one empty wine bottle with the full contents of an entire XXX moonshine jug, but the volume of backroom still production keeps increasing! And the little boy with his thumb in the dyke is getting distracted by the accoutrements of modern life and ready to skirt corking duties! And other metaphors for the fact that the whole pressurized system is about to blow!
Today the numbers were again absent from all electronic signage, and being only April, the good people of the subway see no reason to discontinue the heaters in the subway cars. I attemped to push myself into one traincar this morning, only to feel a fierce wave of radioactive warmth emanating from the nuclear core. I briskly skipped to a different portal, stood prostrate for ten minutes inside, and eventually had some suited slob keep pushing his sticky back against mine. His navy wool carapace was explosively hot like a fusion engine, imprinting my upper back with heat memories long after he swayed towards someone else. The person to my immediate left - that is to say, standing on my left foot with his arm around my shoulder for balance, checking out the contents of my iPod - was suffering from typical winter atopic dermatitis, that perhaps in further consideration, was just first-degree burns from weathering this intense heat all the way from Chuo-Rinkan.
Posted by marxy at April 12, 2006 6:01 PMdid you move out to the sticks or are you working out there?
Posted by: Chris_B at April 12, 2006 10:18 PMHi, my name is Carolina. I want to establish direct contact by email, it´s possible? This is my email: carolceca@gmail.com thanks!!
Posted by: carol at April 13, 2006 12:19 AMHi, my name is Marxy. I am always available at marxy[at mark]neomarxisme.com
did you move out to the sticks or are you working out there?
I live in the same place I've lived for the last three years. I did not travel to Chuo Rinkan - the atopy guy was (possibly) coming in from there to Shibuya.
Posted by: marxy at April 13, 2006 12:28 AMsounds nasty. did have a few trips on denentoshisen, admitedly not rush hour, crowded but nowhere near. i use denentoshisen from the point it becomes hanzomon inwards and i always find it chilled and spacious, at least compared to say marunouch or ginzasen.
but let the recent redesigning and consequent decongestion of so many tokyo metro stations, from omotesando to nihonbashi, also be mentioned.
Posted by: alin at April 13, 2006 12:32 AMDenentoshi is reasonable, but never totally empty after the rush period. Hanzumon is generally empty, like you've said.
One of my favorite things in Tokyo is indeed the empty Metro stations in the middle of the city. On the weekends, the financial district undergrounds are pretty empty, and you can get very lost wandering from exists 1 to 15.
Posted by: marxy at April 13, 2006 12:58 AMI like what they're doing with Metro stations these days. The new maps and signage are easy on the eyes and probably very helpful for non-Japanese speakers.
Although they should have never dropped those Metro Bear campaings. What's the deal? They had the Muppets for a few months... and what's up now? Clifford the Big Red Dog?
Come on!
Rory, I found the whole station letter number combo to be odd and redundant. No local is ever going to say "meet me at T05" to begin with and trying to use it to navigate just adds another layer of indirection. But if it works for you then hooray!
re: hanzomon/denentoshi/WTF-sen: what I really dont like is getting tripple billed for staying on the same damn train gonig south. I'm sure theres some historical reason for it, but nowadays it just seems like another screw the consumer maneuver.
Posted by: Chris_B at April 13, 2006 8:29 PMChris,
I feel you on the double/triple charge deal. What a rip.
Of course locals aren't going to say M08 to M15 to H05, but I think it will help if my folks come to visit!
Posted by: Rory P. Wavekrest at April 14, 2006 12:52 PM