Tokyo • Dystopia

You sigh as you look out the window of the Nozomi shinkansen- endless rice pastures and country houses typical of the inaka, pass by. Their tedium is almost a sheer reflection of your own. It has been nearly an hour since you bid Kyoto farewell... there's perhaps an hour and a half to go. The shinkansen speeds on faster, like the mundane cycle of the sun and the moon. The monotony of the landscape evokes a sentimentalisme... however the memories of good old days are all but a wishful fantasy.

You stare at the screen of your smartphone...there's about an hour and twenty minutes to go. The ride seems uneventful except for the occasional announcements onboard. There's a man sitting next to you- a black overcoat and a carelessly strapped-on surgical mask. He had been reading a couple books since the train left Kyoto...you peek over to steal a quick glance: "No longer human ~ Dazai Osamu "... " The Makioka Sisters ~ Junichiro Tanizaki"... You sigh back as you settle back into your seat. Outside the scenery hasn't changed much. Different variations of rice pastures and miniscule houses play on a loop.

....

"tsugi wa Tōkyō (Next, Tokyo)"- reverberates through the eerily quiet shinkansen after an hour of silence which seemed like an eternity. You rouse yourself and look out of the window... the scenery had changed- instead of the monotonous inaka, there were skyscrapers, flashy neon signs, massive billboards, a pretentious air of prosperity, and salary men in their black suits. All the glitz and pomp are surely a new novelty, but not devoid of its own monotony. The train glides into the station as you sort-of-hurriedly gather your belongings.