it is sinking in a little

It is very warm today in Tokyo. I had come to expect something different, and did not pack for it. Still, my coat makes me feel safe, even while it is waiting on its hanger. There is a demon coming in the winter but I am steeling myself against it.

I have been walking into stores and buying small items just to practice interacting with people with whom I have only a vague concept of how to communicate. The bowing in 7-Elevens is strange, but I haven't had to take my shoes off yet, except at the guest house. Though I have gone by a few restaurants where I can see rows of shoes on shelves near the entrance. I think of an eclectic bowling alley.

I know I will feel like an outsider for quite some time, but I shall try to just go with it. I am not even at a point where I can identify street names. It's all just squiggly to me. And there is something both comforting and disconcerting about what promises to be a prolonged period of forced quietness (silence didn't seem right). This will likely be good for writing, and so I will not struggle too hard.

Tomorrow I am headed to Kitanomaru-Koen Park, where the National Museum of Modern Art, Imperial Palace, and the Outer Garden are. I should finally have some pictures worth posting. There's also a museum called Idemitsu Museum of Arts nearby, about which I know almost nothing, and I'll probably check it out. Was going to head in to Tokyo Station tonight and poke around, try to get a little lost, but the jet-lag continues to suck.