Sunny Tokyo

I'm staying in Asakusa, the gate and temple are nearby. It's a bright sunny day and I get some cough drops for the bunk mate who coughed all night.

Into the metro to visit Emperor Naruhito's East gardens. I walk through the downtown office area, it's fairly quiet for a weekday, but in Japan people now work more from home just like in the West.
The gardens are closed today, so I check out the moat and take the metro again to Ueno where there are street markets and museums.

The weather couldn't be better. For dinner I go to the restaurant on top of the sky tree this is my last night in Japan and I am making it a treat. Fantastic views of the sunset and nightlights of Tokyo. Next to me is a single man also in his 60s. He's from Germany, Markus and I speak for a long time over dinner. He lost his wife to cancer last year, it was sudden she was perfectly healthy. Yet another reminder not to hold back. He retired when taking care of his wife now he could go back but he doesn't see the point of it anymore so he's traveling. His life revolves around his two sons who are on two different continents, so he tries to get them home for Christmas in Germany. The conversation moves to my meditations and I explain that I wrote the shortest book on Amazon and he goes online and buys it. I told him I would come to Karlsruhe to sign it for him.Read more