Tokyo Afternoon Stroll

This has got to be my first entry dedicated to something that I've actually done on a Jap soil. Woot. Unfortunately, it's not grand nor is it exciting. For as the title had hinted, it is just a stroll~

Today, I spent my lunch hour on a stroll through Tokyo. Specifically, Roppongi.

My building's at the heart of a sprawling metropolis; and being in Tokyo, a metropolis is really just a codename for concrete jungles. And what a jungle it was! Skyscrapers, urban gardens, classy restaurants, ads on a TV screen at the side of a building on a busy crossing, even an occasional temple or two. My own office building is part of a complex that boasts of 7 gardens (two of which are closed except during Spring and Autumn). So even just an hour's worth of wanderings will certainly quench my thirst.

Even though I knew that some of the gardens are closed as it is summer, I still went and took a look through the gate. Yep, still closed. So I went down the winding staircases, through some confusing corridors, and out unto the street. I don't know which street I landed myself into, but it goes left and right. I went right.

Immediately I saw a temple, 3 foreign embassies, and a cemetery of some sort. I thank the recent rains for cooling the air, letting me fully enjoy my walk without the hassle of being sticky (not to mention stinky). Round and round I go, crossing streets, down through avenues, sometimes I find myself someplace I've been to before. I saw an opening between two buildings and saw that it looks like a park, so I went for it and sure enough, it's a series of gardens sweeping across several lots.

The cicadas were particularly loud by this time of the year, but that did not deter me from enjoying myself. This strip of green land were full of staircases too, confusing pathways, large old trees, and an artificial river that flows from a pond near the entrance, follows the pathways, and into another pond down below. Even though everything was so nature-y, modern art and designs were implemented on the place, and there's even a mall hidden beneath a wide waterfall behind an abstract piece of sculpture.

Anyway, after spending a considerable amount of time walking around the city, a drop from the sky alerted me back to my consciousness. "Was that a rain drop?" I looked up at the sky and sure enough, the sun's now hiding behind some rather dark clouds. I was stunned for a moment for I suddenly realized how far I am from my office, and that I haven't an umbrella.

So I ran.

Setting my sight on the twin towers of my office building, I ran like the umbralla-less traveller that I am. Once I reached the entrance, I gave myself a dust-over, combed my hair a bit, and stepped through the automatic doors to the welcoming hug of the airconditioned lobby.

Break's over. Back to work.