Tokyo walks. Music - ( Public Domain recording ) Ride of the Valkyries performed by The University of Chicago Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Barbara Schubert: archive.org/details/uso-2004-10-31
I created Tokyo walks for my some kind of street series, for the some kind of project. Tokyo and Japan in general have never been a tourist destination but rather an obsession I have had to pursue. It is only appropriate that I picked the Ride of the Valkyries for this piece as my experiences during my solo trip to Tokyo and Kyoto were pure ecstasy and until this day I cannot unravel this feeling into anything that makes sense, on any rational level. I simply have the hots for Japan.
Every cake I ate, every fist of rice, every foot I planted on the pavement felt emotionally charged and even today I feel as much charged about my experiences as I was the moment I dropped into Narita airport.
The note in my diary reads:
My plane ride to Tokyo was a bit like a train ride on a train with square wheels. I was flying from nearby Korea and despite the fact that the ride was fairly short - I was crazily afraid of flying, I still am afraid of flying and every flight I take is a rigorous test of my character.
Yet, the most exciting parts of my life have and are starting with a plane ride. After the rocky introduction to Japan I entered into an immigration procedure in a room with a sign that read:
PRIORITY LANE - only FOR: -GREAT AGED -FEEL BAD -PREGNANTS
Since I was fairly amused I wasn't feeling bad anymore, neither too aged or pregnant, and proceeded without trying the Priority lane, into what I eagerly awaited to get into - Japan.