For those of you who don't know what this picture is, it's the subway map of Tokyo. I am nursing a serious case of wanting to be back there right now... It comes and goes, but it's back today. Why? I think it's because we're starting to do more stuff here in D.C., and it's reminding me of what a fucking cool city Tokyo is. At least a third of my self is shaped by my life there, and moulded by my connections to Japan... That part never leaves, of course, but vehemently reasserts itself periodically.

I miss the insanely groovy places that exist only there. The cafés that have furniture that's way too expensive, and play wacky jazz, and somehow manage to make money because everyone is willing to pay way too much money for a latte and a place to feel a slightly different vibe that night, while they chill with their friends...

And right now, even though I would usually bitch about it, I actually miss the blade-runner bitterness of superficial friendships you find there. The anonymity of knowing that maybe people are gossipping about you today, maybe someone else tomorrrow, but never so seriously that you should actually care. The mental space that everyone has around them, as a given, can be strangely liberating. To Americans it can seem cold and unfeeling, and it is sometimes... but it also allows you to cool off, just like the gray sky and cool concrete of a Tokyo afternoon in September. Your Black-Black and Oronamin-C are all yours, as you walk along the street, but you know that a pseudo-deep conversation is only a cellfone away... and you could meet in a new café every night in Shibuya if you wanted, and just hang out and feel that slightly different vibe...