Into the desert

Tokyo lies clearly
and radiantly behind
me -- a wakeful dream.

End

[Begin]

6.2 tremor

Jolt made building sway
like fat man on a tightrope;
strongest in three years.

What sets Japan apart

Gina and Hiro
invited me to their home
for tempura, beer.

At town's last tram line,
night air on face and hands, we
vowed to meet again.

Wholly attentive
courtesy, kindness make this
a different planet.

Quietest place in Tokyo

Reclusive, preserved;
narrow streets keep traffic light
-- this is Yanaka.

Small one-item shops:
only pickled vegetables,
only rice crackers ...

Ritzy Ginza

Said British MP,
"If this is a recession,
we'd like to have one."

What black magic is this?

Twenty-six-inch wheel
on front, twenty-nine on back,
four people on board.

'Electric City'

Pachinko addicts,
gamers, manga-philes, other
fetishists flock here.

Ryogoku

Huge young men train here
in sumo "stables" and walk
on wooden sandals.

Laundry day

Sushi for breakfast
in downpour; even mermaids
carry umbrellas.

Hachiko, 1936

Years after losing
master, he sat at station
waiting, expecting.

Shibuya

Schools of human fish,
cogs in heaving machine of
a whirligig world.

.

Senso-ji Temple

It's newish; survived
1923 earthquake
but not U.S. bombs.

At the "joukoro,"
people waft smoke over them
to promote good health.

I rub the left foot
of a delicate Buddha
for my own reasons.

Asakusa

For home, restaurant ware,
"plastic food" and kimonos,
this is ground zero.

Tokyo National Museum

Not so wearisome
as museums go: more like
sorbet for the eye.

Woman sprayed red paint
on the Mona Lisa here
in 'seventy-four.

Another presidential visit, 1879

Yulan, cypress trees
planted by Ulysses Grant
now shade homeless camp.