Marathon Day in Tokyo. I am in no shape to run, but I can watch the heroes.

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I feel that this picture can tell me a lot about the Japanese soul.

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I have holed up behind my laptop for a couple of weeks now. Every day I take a break for a walk, to battle the local house wives for cheap and good groceries. The weather was in my favour, … until today: Winter ambushes Tokyo. When I walk out of the front door the cold hits me, snow flakes swirl around me, but I count myself lucky: I have boots.

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Today I remove the picture that inspired the subtitle of this blog from the header and give it an honorary entry.

I saw this shoe hanging from its string in a side street of Shibuya on my second day ever in Japan. I have no idea why it was there, who put it there and what became of it. All I know is that its design closely resembles the design of a pair of shoes I walked into oblivion, until it could not be repaired another time.

I write this entry in memory of this pair of shoes and all the other ones that brought me faithfully to the places I wanted to go.

I do not know a word that means “all the shoes a person owns” but I would suggest “my fleet of shoes”.

The area of Tokyo I live in is famous for its natural display of autumn colors. Some of them seem determined to make it through winter.

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At New Years Eve people queued for hours to toll the bell at my local temple. I was one of them.

When my turn came I tolled it with a friend. We had a sweet sake afterwards, close to a cozy gas heater.

Happy New Year, wherever you are.