"Hibarigaoka - a Typical Suburb of Tokyo" (August 1991)

One quiet August afternoon in Hibarigaoka, on the mid-western fringe of Tokyo, in suburbia, Lyle's camera flew of his bag, into his hands, and began recording....

It was a typical quiet afternoon - not what you might expect if you had only seen the same area in the morning frenzy of commuters rushing to the station to get to work on time.

In fact, this highlights a mystery of Japan - how people seem to have cast-iron ears at some times (shopkeepers shouting "Irasshaimase!" into customers' faces), and then are hyper-sensitive to noise at other times (a woman living next to a park complained to the city because she could hear the sound of small children playing in the park!).

In any case, the city is actually quite quiet - and certainly much more quiet than a lot of people seem to imagine it overseas.

Anyway - here's a view of August 1991 Tokyo suburbia:

Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/