Commuters
We got up early yesterday morning to experience and photograph Shinjuku station at its peak – when the commuters arrive.
The two million people that pass through the station daily make it the busiest one in the world. Thick, steady rivers of commuters stream through ticket gates, into underground passageways, onto platforms, and into trains. (Station staff no longer push stragglers onto already jammed trains.) Sometimes one direction would be almost bare but the opposite way would be overflowing with dark-clothed people. As people found their way from a platform, the next group of people would line up expectantly. A new train would arrive, and the flow would immediately change. The steady beat of feet resonated throughout the corridors, punctuated by the shrill beeps and the sure thlaps of the ticket and card readers.
Observing legions of people proceed through a passageway made Colin and I decide to join them. We all moved together so consistently and rhythmically. Quite quickly.
When the throng was starting to subside and we had had enough, we headed to Nishi (West) Shinjuku to visit the skyscrapers that we had seen only at night. Up, way up to the observatory of one of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government buildings we went. Specially made to withstand the recurrent earthquakes, they proudly stand the tallest on Tokyo’s skyline. The sheer mass of buildings that we saw oddly echoed the crowds of the station.
At night, I met up with Yai and we took the subway right across Tokyo, to one of her dance lessons. My first hip-hop class. So much fun! She’s a great dancer…and teacher. She had everyone giggling as they tried to learn the parts of the routine. I’m always so surprised by the amount of spunk and sparkle she has considering she’s so tiny. It was also fun because I got to meet Miki. She’s the one who had posted Yai’s ad for an English partner. When class was over, the three of us went out for a late dinner.
That’s Yai in the middle, with Miki immediately on the right. Unfortunately I don’t remember the names of the other women.
