The suited gentleman shuffled along behind me, cursing. Not under his breath, but aloud, as if to drum up some camaraderie. Most remained silent as we inched down to the subway. An accident on the tracks had caused severe rush-hour congestion. The platform’s narrow stairway belonged to another era, long before the passenger volumes it accommodates today. The result was a formidable bottleneck.
The gentleman made it clear through his expletive-laden tirade that he was in a hurry. I’m not impervious to moments of mass-transit frustration and felt impatient too. But without intending to, he reminded me to take a broader view of things. His agitation gave me a sense of composure, akin to finding your own courage when someone beside you becomes afraid.
All week my mind had been rushing ahead, projecting into the future. And, seemingly all week, minor setbacks and hold-ups had been slowing me down. The city had not helped. In the popular imagination, it is fast-moving, but oftentimes there is a frustrating latency between deciding to go somewhere and actually getting there. A dense metropolis might be a better place to strengthen the muscle of mindfulness than sitting under a tree on a mountaintop, so frequently does it call for renewed patience and composure.
I untensed my shoulders and eventually reached the platform, half a step at a time, before squeezing into the second or third train to pull in. And, in its own time, the week moved forward too.
On Friday, we finally finished signing, packing and shipping almost all pre-ordered copies of Tokyothèque Neighbourhoods: Volume Two. Just a few remain to be dispatched on Monday morning. It has taken patience all around, not least from readers awaiting their books, and we are grateful for that.
It’s been tempting to rush back into the digital publishing cycle this week, but when I began this newsletter, I promised myself I wouldn’t turn something I love into a treadmill. We’re satisfied with what we’ve accomplished, but tired in mind and body, so we hope you won’t mind us taking a break this week. If you’ve been feeling the urge to rush ahead lately, perhaps you’ll pause and join us.
We return next week with more stories from the Japanese capital.
Until then, bochibochi ganbatte kudasai.
AJ
Tokyothèque Neighbourhoods: Volume 1
Tokyothèque Neighbourhoods guides you through a new set of Tokyo neighbourhoods in each volume. Inside Vol. 1: Nishi-Ogikubo, Jinbōchō, Daikanyama and Kagurazaka.
Tokyothèque Neighbourhoods: Volume 2
Tokyothèque Neighbourhoods returns for a second volume, accompanying you through Tokyo one neighbourhood at a time. Inside Vol. 2: Kōenji, Asagaya and Kichijōji.