September 18th, 2013 - Kawagoe department store rooftop kids' amusement area. It used to be that there were rooftop kids' amusement areas with various amusement park style rides (something similar in concept to miniature golf) on department store roofs all over Japan, but with declining birth rates and home entertainment they have been disappearing one by one over the years.
That history out of the way, I'm now sitting on a bench at one of the few remaining old style department store rooftop amusement parks. Being a weekday afternoon, you wouldn't expect it to be really busy, but still - there's a kind of melancholy sadness in an amusement park (however small) with very few people.
While sitting here I've observed several young couples, each with one two or three-year-old child riding the three-minute Ferris wheel, but there has been a gap between all of them, with the ride alternating between being fully empty and having just one threesome on board (young parents with one small child). Without wishing for a population explosion (there are too many people on the planet already), you look around and hope that this old type department store with its rooftop amusement park can continue. Something like... nostalgic 1960's culture...?
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
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http://lookback1997.blogspot.jp/
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