Hiroko's Hitokoto

On the weekend, I took a walk around Azabu Juban. It's about 15-20 min walk from my home and I enjoyed it because there are lots of small stores with "natsukashii" stuff from the old days. It's been a long time since I was there last, and I was surprised that the street was filled with lots of tourists. It looks like they come down on the Ooedo line. Even the bread store I often go to was filled with people, and I gave up trying to buy bread. Everywhere I went was crowded, and I ended up buying nothing. It must be good for the stores there that they have more customers coming, but my feeling is complicated: the town I used to know is changing. The new Mori building in Roppongi will bring even more people in future too. I think everyone has their favorite town, and somehow you call it your own. I know it's selfish, but somehow I wish my space would just stay the same as it always was. I guess it's time to make an expedition to a new area -- and become one of th

The other day, I took a bus home from Shibuya, and the bus stopped because the engine overheated. Luckily another bus soom came to pick us up, so the passengers didn't have to wait in the cold weather too long. I don't remember the last time I was in a bus in Japan that actually broke down. So it was a kind of unique experience and in a strange way a little bit enjoyable... I remember that I loved taking the very front seat of the bus when I was in elementary school. I guess I wanted to feel like I was driving the bus. Somehow, I started choosing the seat in the very back of bus in high school. You can see that the other kids and students have the same tendency if you're on the bus. Some people don't like taking the bus because it's never on time and some drivers speed and drive like crazy, but I like it because I can check out different views of the city which I can't see from the train. With only JPY200, you can go almost anywhere in Tokyo by Toei Bus. Time fo

I heard the news that Converse filed for Chapter 11 protection, meaning that effectively they went bankrupt. I remember when I was in 5th and 6th grade at school, we all joined the basketball team as part of our school activities. Everyone wanted Converse basketball shoes. But as time went by, I stopped wearing my Converse shoes and never really bought any more. Even though the brand recognition of Converse is still pretty strong, maybe we're entering an era where just brand image can't drive a business anymore. In which case, operators with strong corporate and brand management experience, like RVMC, will start moving in even more aggressively and buying up yesteryear's famous companies...