me gusta los domigos

I know ive been very vacillative about Japan and my life here, but on Sundays like this I truly do love it. I admit ive become a bit of a chauvinist, but can you blame me for feeling that Oregon's about a billion times better then this place in every way? or at least one way; trees, yes trees... Tokyoites don`t seem to know what those are. Hey bonsai trees dont count okay. I don`t mean to disparage a traditional art form or anything of the sort. They just don`t emit quite enough oxygen for me.





I usually spend my Sundays riding around on my sweet bike that my host dad lent me for the year. So when the rain and cold dont fetter me I go to my secret place, my secret bench; oh my ineffable bench. I spent so many Sundays searching for this place. Under an over pass a small alley road runs in to the intersection leaving a little triangle shaped piece of land left over thats not big enough to do anything with. This is the only public place I have found with grass and the best part is the cherry blossom tree that shades the bench. The purlieus of the bench is littered pretty badly and it isn`t exactly near my house, but I dont really mind the hour or so bike ride; im just happy to have my own lil place here. I remember the first couple months I was here and I would just ride around completely aimlessly unwilling to believe I couldnt find a park of some sort. So basically I just love sunny sundays where I can ride my bike to my bench and from there I can see Tokyo and I can think about it but it allows me to at the same time be detached from it. Then if I go a lil farther down the rode I can get an apple juice for 80 yen to drink on the way home at which time I always spend the time thinking, man this has to be the best apple juice. How monastic right, bike riding and apple juice; I miss the old days when thats what I did pretty much everyday. geeze am i just another person whining about the evanescence of childhood. It sure was great though, what if i dont WANT to grow up?...