tokyo’s bone-chilling glow: a digital nomad’s unfrozen ramblings

i should’ve known better than to pack a cabin in tofu and flannel for this. woke up to a temperature that feels like the inside of a freezer aisle. not the freezer of gokudera or whatever, but close enough. my laptop’s been left in the cold while i wander around trying to figure out if this is a good or bad idea. maybe the humidity at 95% is just mother nature’s way of saying maybe. i just checked and it’s…there right now, hope you like that kind of thing. oh, and i spilled matcha on my shirt. it’s like autumn fog mixed with regret.

blockquote: someone told me that the coffee shops here serve brews so cold they’d make a dog check for ice. i didn’t believe them until i saw a guy at a tiny kiosk sipping from a paper cup that looked like it’d survived a blizzard. maybe he did. who knows. but if you’re here, don’t skip the ikebana place near the station. i heard that upstairs. or maybe that’s a rumor i’m making up. you never know.

we’re talking about neighbors here. not like the.’’ noisy neighbors.’’ you know, the kind that bounces electronic soda cans or sings karaoke in japanese. these are the actual neighbors. the ones who’ll hand you a tamagoyaki if you look lost. or just stare at you like you’re a ghost from their past. one old woman across the street has this thing where she’ll wave at you every morning, even though you’re not in her garden. it’s creepy but oddly nice. if you get bored, shinjuku’s just a short drive away. but don’t ask me how i know. probably not.

image thing one:

i just took this dumpster behind a convenience store as my background. it’s got a statue of a cat in it. i don’t know why. maybe the cat is judging me? maybe i’m the cat. either way, the weather’s making us all question our life choices.

image thing two:

so i saw this train. it’s orange. not the brand. the actual color. like, why is there an orange train in tokyo? is it a protest? a fashion statement? i don’t care. i just wanted to know if it was safe to take. an old man yelled at me in broken english. probably a neighbor judging me for not knowing the rules.

image thing three:

the gate gate. yeah, that’s its name. not a metaphor. a literal plastic gate that some guy wanted to put in his yard. maybe he’s a fan of overcommitting. it’s the kind of thing that makes you ask, why are we doing this? why is everything here so…cold and cheap?

i hooked up with a spot near the station to work. it’s a crooked table in a dive bar with a view of the world upside down. the wifi’s spotty, the noise is loud, but the coffee is hot. or at least, it was. by the time i finished this cup, it was just lukewarm regret. i wrote this article on my phone. sometimes that’s a good thing. sometimes it’s a disaster. i’ll let you decide.

someone told me that the local hostel keeps a jar of dollar coins from tourists who can’t afford yen. i don’t know if it’s true. maybe it’s a myth like the ghost at the convenience store. but if it is, i’m gonna go there. probably.

link to a yelp for the ikebana place: https://www.yelp.com
link to a tripadvisor for shinjuku: https://www.tripadvisor.com
link to a local board post about coffee: https://www.reddit.com

the weather here is like a character in a bad rom-com. it’s there to make you uncomfortable. but maybe that’s the point. maybe tokyo doesn’t want you to relax. maybe it wants you to leave. or maybe it’s just being dramatic. either way, my feet are numb and my motivation is low. but i’m still here. somehow.

neighbors again. i saw a guy riding a bicycle with a backpack full of books. i assume he’s a student or a monk. or both. he didn’t look bothered by the cold. maybe he’s immune. maybe he’s a robot. who can say.

so yeah. this is my tokyo. a mix of freezing, weird, and oddly charming. if you’re reading this, you’re probably either brave or stranded. maybe both.

p.s. the pressure here is 1019. or so they say. doesn’t feel like much. but then again, i haven’t checked the actual pressure of my stress levels. those are through the roof.

ought to mention the grass levels are at 1010. i’m not sure what that means. maybe the earth is mad. or maybe it’s just a number. either way, it’s not helping.

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