We appreciate the big things in life — big monuments, big moments, big vistas; as far as exotic travel goes, Japan seems to fit those expectations. Buddhist temples, sumo, Mt. Fuji, and so on.
Leave it to the urbanist, however, to notice the little things, and to capture some of the beauty and wonder of everyday life. And, naturally, to add some context for us to consider.
Perhaps in the form of a question. Like — what’s the source of my food? Why not go by bike, even in rain? Why are public bathrooms such a tortured topic in the west? If walking is so commonplace, why must sidewalks be so unremarkable? So invisible?
And why don’t we eat high quality sushi more often? (Indeed, why not today?)
The famed fish market is scheduled to relocate to new building,etc. elsewhere this fall. We too, hope to catch this existing market before it goes.
There was a huge reported controversy about contaminated land for the new location which resulted in a delay.