To live in a world meant for other people

During my first month in Tokyo, I am taken to a neighborhood izakaya in Takadanobaba called Momem Ya by the owner of the jazz bar I frequent. The restaurant is secluded in a basement, a small but comfortable space, perfect for two at the counter, or groups at the Japanese-style tables hugging the walls.. It has a friendly staff and delightful menu. Both change over the years, yet remain uncompromisingly friendly and delightful. Jazz music hang s over the open kitchen as we wait for our food to be cooked.  Chefs in the Open Kitchen of Momen Ya  This first visit, I am introduced to shirasu, pictured below. There is a lot of food on the table that night, and I dig into the shirasu like I do the other new food I try - with trepidation, excitement, and anticipation. I take in a mouthful, then another. A delicious flavor, new to me. A delicate taste. I think I am eating some sort of Japanese steamed vegetable. I ask my host what it is. He smiles and tells me to look closer...

The landmark Chelsea Hotel was built in the 1880s as one of the city's first private co-ops. In 1905, it re-opened as a hotel. Over the years, the hotel has been the home of numerous writers, musicians, artists, and actors, including Dee Dee Ramone, Bob Dylan, Virgil Thomson, Sam Shepard, Arthur C. Clarke, Arthur Miller, Charles Bukowski, Allen Ginsberg, Dylan Thomas, Janis Joplin, Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen, and Patti Smith. In the 1970s, a New York landmark himself, Stanley Bard took over the management of the hotel, and his son David joined him later on. In the autumn of 1978, punk rocker Sid Vicious killed his girlfriend, Nancy Spungen, in Room 100, a room that has joined the other ghosts that make up the Chelsea. View from the Balcony, Room 325 The year is 1995 or 1996. I enter the Chelsea Hotel, push through the heavy glass doors. The light in the lobby adjusts to my eyes. Art runs floor to ceiling around the room. Obscure paintings. Little known artists. A s...

...after the cherry blossoms fade and the petals fall to the ground, the allure remains, like a dusting of snow in the springtime, a final, memorable curtain call before the lights go out. My books on Amazon | Subscribe to this site | Contact me  

Another closing to a magical season in Tokyo, where the cherry blossoms dress up the city, a delicate and engaging gateway to springtime.     My books on Amazon | Subscribe to this site | Contact me  

More photos of Sakura along Kanda River in the Nishwaseda section of Tokyo, under a cloudy sky, just a day or two from full blossom. My books on Amazon | Subscribe to this site | Contact me  

Sakura in the twilight, a few days from peak. A magical time in Tokyo. My books on Amazon | Subscribe to this site | Contact me  

Sakura - night time in Tokyo. Still a few days away from full-blossom. Anticipation... My books on Amazon | Subscribe to this site | Contact me  

Because it is beautiful...along the Kanda River in the Nishiwaseda section of Tokyo, just outside my door. My books on Amazon | Subscribe to this site | Contact me  

A few days each year cherry blossoms fall from distant trees to float among the columns, to litter the surface with a softer edge, a more tenuous future. They are a reminder that one day these patterns too shall die and be replaced with something else. Meanwhile, below the surface, life changes unalterably. Syncopated Rhythm - James Halat My books on Amazon | Subscribe to this site | Contact me  

A picture taken in December 2015 in Shinjuku Gyoen in Tokyo. The sky is a dull gray. It seems to be made of a soft metal. Underneath, the vibrant colors of winter escape into the day. The park is not unlike F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. It nearly disappeared in the 1940s, only to be resurrected and reintroduced to the public to newfound acclaim. Click pictures to enlarge My books on Amazon   |   Subscribe to this site   |   Contac t me