Today we wandered through our local back streets again. Quite frankly, the architecture and the building materials are prettty grotty, which is odd considering the Japanese appreciation for good design and craftsmanship. Yet it is a very clean city. Partly this is because all garbage is sorted into bottles, burnable garbage and PET, partly because it is not considered good form to eat, drink or smoke in the street, and partly because there are no public bins, except near vending machines. But, considering how much packaging goes into every purchase, one would expect a lot more rubbish to be floating around. We found a lovely little glass shop yesterday. Today, we found a little shop that sold stamps. You can get your own name in kanji or kana , made up with beautiful handles and cases. Quite divine. On the way, we came across an elderly man who had come off his bike and was lying on the pavement looking very dire. A heart attack, perhaps? A crowd of people were ministering to him. One was on the phone to the ambulance. Another had put a pillow under his head and a teddy to hold. A third was taking his pulse and monitoring. Another stood in the road to hail the ambulance when it drove down the street. Nice to see such community involvement.
We scooted off into Ueno Station to buy our train tickets to Kyoto. We must have been the most under-prepared customers he had ever come across but he was so polite, tolerant, patient and helpful. Being here makes one realise just how rude the service to customers in general, but to foreigners especially can be in Australia. This seems especially true in our railway stations and airports. Why the difference? Is it because in Japan there is respect for every job, and people feel pride in their work? I don't know, but I do know how appreciative I am of the sheer kindness and generosity of the people we have met here. We haven't met one unhelpful person. Even in restaurants where on would assume only locals would go, an English menu will appear, or at least a menu with pictures.
Lunch was from a little store that sells pre-packaged meals or lets you choose your own combinations, charging by weight. The only drawback is that we found it impossible to find the public dining area. Desperate, we crouched unobtrusively, we hoped, outside and ate in a secretive manner.
From Ueno, we travelled by train to the JR Nippori Station. We noticed little homilies everywhere on respecting others' space and feelings. It is not customary to speak on the phone on the train. One is warned about the dangers of texting and walking. There are reminders to be aware that backpacks can inadvertently jab others.
Then, we walked to the Nippori Textile district, otherwis known as a Fabric Town. An amazing kilometre of shops. From the outside, they look like you would find nothing. Inside, each shop is a wonderland, often with floors and floors of goods. My friend, a keen and talented artist on the sewing machine, bought liberty prints, furnishing fabrics, and dress materials, as well as ribbons, cords, fur pom-poms, sew- on motifs, buttons, rubber stamps and containers. I got Japanese cords, sew on motifs, and Japanese prints. We both got tempted by jewellery making supplies, furnishing tassels and braids, felted ornaments and toys, bag handles and more. A real must for crafters and those who sew. The business of the streets makes one realise how common making your own clothes is in Japan, not only older women were there, but young women, and men.
Next, we crossed the train line to try to find a sculptors' home and gallery in Yanaka. Google maps lost the plot, and by the time two very nice locals had stopped us to offer help, it was too late to get in. All was not lost. We wandered around this residential district, peering into graveyards and finding wonderful little gift shops. We then found Hebi-dori, a street that serves as an artisan centre, food court, antique centre, market street. This is the only place that people eat in the street. We found a wonderful tea shop with exquisite ceramics and decided we have to come back to this area tomorrow.
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