tokyo through the lens of a broke botanist: heatwaves and hidden gardens
woke up at 6am to the smell of burning incense and sizzling katsu sandos. grabbed my beat-up binoculars-the ones that once cost $50 but now look like my ex’s left eye-and wandered into ueno park. turns out the tree frogs are celebrating a heatwave. 25.32°C, sandwiched between 28% humidity and nowhere to hide. tried to snap a pic of a cycad with my ancient dslr, but the lens fogged up faster than my manager’s patience.
some old guy at a bento stall told me, ‘you shouldn’t look at flowers like they’re just background.’ probably said it because i kept mispronouncing chieko at the cursed flower market. forgot to ask if he’s a priest or just tired. nearby restaurant left a sign: ‘wifi 300m!’ also addictive, it’s true.
heard from a friend-of-a-friend that *shimokitazawa’s secondhand shops are haunted by taiyoukei ghosts. not sure if that’s folklore or just the lack of break rooms. tried bargaining at a nomiyage store and got a postcard featuring a cat wearing akubilevins. cheap and tragic.
drunk advice from a taxi driver: ‘stay away from the cheap coffee. it’s priority queue for foreigners who don’t shower.’ turns out he was right. the only good espresso in shibuya tastes like melted regret.
if you get bored, gotembashi’s train station has a fridge for stray yogurt cups. serendipity or capitalism? jury’s out. neighbors say the onsen in haiden was criticized for ‘unethical snowmelt usage’-not sure if that’s drama or a legit thing.
overheard gossip: someone said uhoshiku’s izakaya has a wall of expired wasabi. ‘caution: it’s alive,’* i wrote on the napkin. didn’t order anything.
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