Tokyo Waterways (the Arteries)

Tokyo, Japan - jeeff - Tuesday, April 19th, 2005 : goo

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tokyo's waterways are much-maligned. once they were the lifeblood of the city, ferrying people and goods through a complex network of channels. the rivers were so ubiquitous that -bashi or "bridge" is still a common suffix for neighbourhoods - places like nihombashi or kappabashi. now the waters flow in the shadow of roaring expressways, or they disappear underground. still, the water that flows straight-jacketed under the bridges feels awake - old, subdued, but watching.

^ the kanda near its terminus in the sumida river. upstream is ochanomizu, which means "tea-water," so-called because the river runs green.

^ looking downstream along the sumida river. in the 1923 great kanto eartquake and again during the firebombs of WWII, huge numbers of people leapt into the water and drowned. locals say that the cherry trees lining the banks here blossom with special beauty because of all the lost souls.

^ taken from nihombashi, once the center point in all of japan, where distances were measured from. now the bridge and the river stand in the shadow of an expressway.

^ a back alley drainage ditch in shibuya. memories of anime flicks that i've seen.

^ i had an unsettling dream about this place, a bridge near akihabara. the next evening i went down and stood overlooking the water as the light failed. i felt like this was the center of everything surrounding it. something about the rows of blank windows and the murky water, it gave me chills.

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jeeff: coool.

Jamie: he the man

jeeff: oh, how i miss tokyo.

noon: I love this! WOW.

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