DUG

 

DUG by Tosh Berman

Los Angeles to Tokyo

 

Los Angeles to Tokyo

Silver Lake + Meguro = Me

 Silver Lake + Meguro = Me

March 6, 2018 (Tokyo) by Tosh Berman

March 6, 2018

I've been going back and forth to Tokyo for the past 29 years. What's odd is that I still don't know the city that well. Tokyo is not a noun but a verb. It's consistently moving and changing, with some practices and places not changing much at all, while other areas change drastically. The best way to learn to maneuver the Tokyo landscape is going by yourself. Having someone show you places is a must as well, but after that, I think one will learn more about this metropolis if you go and just wander without a thought in your head where you're going to or heading towards. 

One can literally spend all your time in one neighborhood and never get tired of it. If you are bored in Tokyo, then there is nothing that will save you. The entertainment, the shops, and the walking pleasures never stop. It is probably best for a sane mind is to be very focused on what you want to do in Tokyo. One can choose almost any subject of interest, and find it here in this city. I do go to the bookshops and record stores because that's a major interest in my life. On the other hand, if you're into food, the aesthetic taste never disappoints. People-watching is an art form as well. 

In a fashion, Tokyo reminds me of Los Angeles, not in its physical space but dealing with the city within a city. Each neighborhood or ward has a specific feel or aesthetic. Sometimes it's very age orientated - there are teenage places as well as locations for adults, and one can see that while walking down the street. Most of the streets don't have names, so finding places is a total mystery to me. One is consistently going back and forth on a small road to find that specific spot. It's very much part of the process. 

Yesterday I headed toward my home here, and at 7PM the subway and trains were packed. One should never go against the crowd but go with the flow of the people. I was pushed into the train and my body was physically connected to at least three people. I feel like I have taken over their bodies, and one feels like they're sharing the same breath as the other. It's neither bad or good, just a daily occurrence at a specific time when on the public transportation. I have a genius in locating areas that no one goes to, and therefore I get that privacy I adore so much. - Tosh Berman

March 3, 2018 (Tokyo) by Tosh Berman

March 3, 2018, Tokyo

A dear friend of mine claims that jet-lag doesn’t exist.  Therefore I don’t have a reason for falling asleep in front of a bowl of miso soup.  What woke me up was the sound of the bowl breaking, and finding a piece of tofu on my eyebrow.   As I raised my head, I noticed other customers at this elegant restaurant was looking at me in such a manner as looking at a public drunk.  Speaking which, the sake glass remained unharmed to this mishap.   I do what I normally do in such situations by pretending nothing happened.  If one can do this with great conviction, you can get away with murder.  For example, President Trump uses this technique over and over again.   The idiots of the world stand significantly against embarrassment. 

I’m here in Tokyo to specifically write for a publication I work for which is Facebook.   They recently made changes in their format, due to Russian activity on their site.  From now on they will only hire professional writers to do the posts.  Which means they send me to foreign lands, as well as time-to-time write for individuals who use Facebook as a social platform.  There are countless people who are real, but they hire me to handle their posts.  So, I ask them if there are significant changes in their lives, which can mean a death in the family, moving from one location to another, or a new job, stuff like that.   It keeps me busy but the beauty of it with the power of the laptop I can pretty much do my occupation anywhere in the world unless someone pulls the plug out of this Internet thing. 

Tokyo is an exciting city due that they have buildings.  They have lots of buildings. Some even have windows where one can look at other buildings in their space.  As one can gather, some streets lead to these buildings, and some have front entrances.  Sometime today I’m going to enter one of these buildings to see what’s up. 

Meanwhile here are photos of me on Singapore airlines.  No seats were available, so I pretty much had to stand up in their small bathroom for 11 and a half hours.  The coach section is tight space wise, but if you occupy a bathroom, there is leg room and tiny room for a small hand-luggage.   The consistent knocking of the bathroom door gets annoying, but again, and like above, I just pretend nothing is happening.

Not able to speak a word of Japanese, except “ah-so,” which I understand can be even Chinese, but I’m not sure about that, is a stumbling block in business meetings as well as trying to find something to eat.  I have always read about how great their vending machines are, and I found a machine in an arcade. It is one of those claw things, where if you put a few hundred yen in the thingy-twiggy you can with some skill, grab food out of the closed-off section, which my understanding is to protect the food from outside germs.   I managed to get a piece of bread, and apparently, it doesn’t taste like any bread I have eaten before.  Still, when hungry, you have to keep your chin up and just pretend nothing happened.