Greetings 2

Parallel worlds

Hello! I'm down here! 

Since the pandemic started, I've felt like living in limbo, enclosed in my personal cocoon. I've watched the news, checked the daily figures, the increasing number of cases and deaths... but it all felt so far away, like I was watching Steven Soderbergh's Contagion. Then, this morning, I went for my usual walk and I saw it. 

Can you see them? Those strange curves in the mirror? 

They look like the glitch in the matrix. 

That's when I realized I had somehow crossed into a parallel world populated by weird and goofy creatures where things more or less go on as usual and the bad news arrive muffled, like the deep rumble of a distant thunder. 

Am I going mad?   

That's what I thought the first time I saw the Cow Train.

I was minding my business, following the usual path along the railway, when it came from behind, unannounced. 

When you live in a parallel world, like Alice's Wonderland on the other side of the mirror, even the dullest looking suburban street can hide something extraordinary.

Like Totoro's house, for instance. 

Every once in a while, I wait for a few minutes at the Neko Bus stop, but that lazy cat never shows his face. 

There are times when I look at the houses that are reflected on the river's surface and I wonder on which side of the mirror I'm now. 

Am I on the right side?

Is there a right side anyway?

Does it matter? 

We are approaching the end of the year and, hopefully, the end of the pandemic (though everybody in Japan is still wearing masks). I look back at the last three years and only feel gratitude for being blessed with these surroundings. 

Life goes on, and whenever I see the Sheep Train (yes, we have sheep too) gliding on its single-track path, I know I'm on the bright side of life. 

Take care, be good and be happy.

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Also, if you decide to become a paid subscriber, your generosity will be rewarded with a few gifts in the form of free downloadable PDFs.

1. If you opt for a monthly subscription (USD 5.00) you will get Made of This, a sort of memoir I wrote with Randy Osborne, and Tokyo Calling: Year One, a collection of some of the best essays and interviews I posted in my first year of activity. These two books alone are worth $20.00.

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• Made of This

• Tokyo Calling: Year One

• A Companion to Japanese History

• Multiethnic Japan

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3. Special Supporters (USD 100.00 or more - you decide) will get even more: the four above-mentioned books plus:

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• Tokyo Ueno Station

These seven books are worth $219.00, which means you are saving at least $119.00, probably more.

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Special Offer!

For a limited time, I’m offering a 50% discount on the Special Supporter subscription. In other words, you can pay just USD 51.00 and still get those seven books.

(If you choose this option, click on Special Supporter and manually change the amount of money to $51/year)

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