natasha nakamura's diary

August 9

Some things have changed.

Is it just my imagination or have women's breasts grown larger? They are certainly more prominently featured in ads on the trains and on the covers of the titillating weeklies. There are more cafes, some even with a few seats outside. The new Odeo Line has clicked into gear: each station has its own design motif--there's nothing so splendid in NY or Paris, that's for sure. (My heart goes out to the poor souls who have to ride those rumbling, crumbling commuter trains from Greenwich to Grand Central.)

There is some fine graffiti now, as for instance under the Tokyu Line tracks from Yokohama to Sakuragicho. Grocery stores are stocking more spices and condiments from abroad and there seem more little shops selling things which foreigners would find "smart," such as well-designed kitchen implements. (I ran across a store in Harajuku that's nothing but chairs from all over the world, artfully arranged. It looks like a chair museum.)