Sado Island is part of Niigata prefecture and the region is known for its rice and sake, so on the way to ferry when I was leaving Sado I stopped at sake brewery to pick up a good bottle of sake for Kyoko, a friend from Shanghai days. We met last night in Tokyo.
In Niigata, I had left my bicycle along with one of the panniers in the underground bicycle parking lot by the train station, as I was staying close by. These lots seem to be invariably run by retirees, I’m assuming, who were always very helpful when I was deciphering the vending machine for the ticket to park your bike.
The next morning (yesterday) was the last time I had to pack up the bike and load it onto the train and it went very smoothly, except for getting the axle off the front wheel. I had to solicit some assistance from a construction flag person to twist it off for me. The thru axle has continually been hard to get off, but this was the first time I was completely stymied.
From the Tokyo station I rode to the hotel near the Haneda airport, which was about 18 km away but it ended up taking much longer than planned. Once away from the traffic and crowds, on the smaller streets, Tokyo proved to be great city for cycling.
It was my last night in Japan and in the evening I rode out through back streets and lanes to a small family-run restaurant to meet Kyoko. The weather was unusually warm for that time of year, and the aroma of people cooking dinner wafted through the air.
Kyoko’s father, who was a writer, was instrumental in helping get my father’s memoir published in Japanese for distribution in Japan. Both Kyoko’s parents have passed away now; she’s one year older than I am, and a writer herself, as well as a translator. But Kyoko’s real work is her collection of artefacts from Shanghai’s past both before and after 1949.
When we visited her apartment after dinner, it brought back a lot of memories to see in her main room one of the stylized art deco credenzas from Shanghai’s famous Peace Hotel. I had the exact same piece, actually two of them, but had to sell them when I left.
Kyoko published a book called Old Shanghai, along with another writer, which is a very detailed and rich catalogue (in Japanese) of vintage Shanghai buildings, streets, fashion, posters, merchandise and miscellany from this hybrid metropolis which emerged after the Opium wars and lasted until the Communist revolution. Unfortunately, it’s out of print, because I would love to add it to my own, much less complete, collection of books and photographs documenting “old Shanghai”.
A good friend, dinner, memories and our bikes. Is there any better way to spend the last day of Japan than riding through the quiet dark streets of its largest city?
You, my trusty steed
My horse, my wheels, my mothership
Take me here again
