Just another rainy day in Tokyo, honestly were just preparing to wait out the Typhoon that is projected to land in the next couple days. One of the biggest recorded.
It doesn't look like people are in a panic so I guess its just another day in paradise. We'll see how it goes.
Anyway today was pretty productive, especially after our studio reviews yesterday. So this morning I made my way to Honolulu Cafe, a small 2 story shop located on the South East corner of the plaza. I had a chance to survey the site from both the second floor and from grade.
Even though today was raining, the surrounding area was very active. This area is home to many shops that are open during the day and an equal number of shops that open later in the day. These include restaurants and bars. I would say approximately 60% of the total number of retailers (restaurants, retail and service shops) open during the day and approximately 40% (restaurants, bars and convenience stores) open in the evening.
This 60/40 hours of operation doesn't seem to congest the area at any time of day. I was able to find seating in a seemingly busy cafe with no problem, even after a couple hours when I went upstairs.
The "Correctness" Officers still patrol the streets, making sure you act correct and keep in line with the rest of society. NO FUNNY BUSINESS
Even though it was raining that didn't seem to stop children from enjoying a bit of free space and foliage in a city congested with inorganic faces and hardscaped surfaces.
Not even parents can control where their kids run off to in the rain. This area is perfect for children needing to charge through extra energy.
And then at night, this spot turns into the perfect place to level up your Pokemon Go account, not sure what their catching, but they are definitely dueling, I say that because their not speaking to each other, just looking at their phones. At least 6 people huddled catching Pokemon.
Throughout the evening, the area was busy with bars and restaurants spilling into the streets with their doors and windows wide open, enabling the sound and ambiance to travel throughout the neighborhood.
You cant tell from this panorama but this park is surrounded by 5-6 story towers, since the only illumination is coming form the first 2 storeys, the upper storeys remain hidden by the night sky. Primarily residential unit occupy those floors.
I need to retake this panorama during the day to get a better sense of the streetwalls. Maybe I edit this instead...
Another interesting note are the marker / sculptures in the area.
This, what I originally thought of was just another pedestrian safety bollard, was actually a sculptural sound articulation unit.
Not sure what this statues of a little girl represents as the plaque is in Japanese kanji. Planning to go back and get a clearer photo during the day in order to translate the kanji.
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