Monday, October 12, 2009

Now You See It, Now You Don't


This is a picture of a parking lot that was until recently the Azabu Juban Onsen (a public bath supposedly supplied with hot spring water). Though I did not frequent this bath, I enjoyed seeing locals laden with their washing supplies on their way to or from a nice soak. The scene hearkened back to an earlier time when this neighborhood was a charming, residential enclave and untainted by the rampant redevelopment that is turning its shoe-makers and bread bakeries into trendy snack shops and nail parlors faster than you can say "French tips, please." But in Japan few buildings are sacred. And parking lots are just construction sites waiting to happen.

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