"Yurakucho Izakaya - July 6th, 2012"

"Yurakucho Izakaya - July 6th, 2012 - 20:38"

Sitting at a table in a multi-generation under-the-tracks izakaya.  A Friday night - just past 8:30 p.m.  Happy sounds all around as the trains rumble overhead and people toast the end of the week "お疲れさまです！ - お疲れ様！".  The place has become historical and people are busy taking pictures of each other to commemorate being in this very cool spot.  All the seats are taken.  [Putting down notebook and pen in order to make a couple of short video clips of the table in order to get an audio recording of the moment.]  It sounds like this!:  (Video/動画 [A], [B]).

People walk by in the under-tracks tunnel... looking off to my right I see various people walking by the entrance - many of them looking into the izakaya-filled tunnel as they pass by - continuing down the street along the elevated train tracks.  Another train rumbles overhead... a timeless space with ticking clocks all around....

On the other side of the tunnel, one of the izakaya places has been boarded up.  From what I hear, the landlord is pushing for higher rents, higher rents - as the economy continues its tailspin, the landlord pushes for higher rents, higher rents - one begins to wonder if their utmost desire is to have all the under-tracks spaces boarded up (as they so hideously are next to Bic Camera next to Yurakucho Station) - but why?  Have they no respect for Tokyo traditions?  Have they no hearts?

- Other clocks --

Beer, yakitori, edamame... I can't sit here for free, and it would be rude and inconsiderate to take up chair and table space over any one drink.  So... I'm on drink number two and yakitori order number two.  The (nearly) full second drink sits in front of me, the mostly empty plate of edamame awaits being completely consumed (not the plate itself, but you know what I mean), and the last plate of yakitori is on the way.  More trains pass overhead with industrial noises echoing past decades.  The people around me animatedly talk....  A nice moment, but the time to leave speedily approaches....

Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://tokyoartmusic.blogspot.com/