Going through the bustling streets by the west gate, I went out into Tokiwa Boulevard. There already was an atmosphere of the outskirts of the town. It's very strange that though Ikebukuro, a sub-center of Tokyo, is so conveniently located, less than ten minutes from the station you will find yourself in a district with a rural feeling. The existences of such stores as the ones selling chickens in the narrow spaces between bars also contribute to creating such an atmosphere. Just as if I were pulled in, I chose a local kind of street which was lined on both sides with stores in spite of its narrowness. It is the Nakadoori shopping district.

Tailors, opticians, and shoe stores are my three favorite kinds of shops. I can't help getting excited when I find these shops. My heart even becomes to be beating quickly depending on the appearance of a shop. I sometimes pass a shop back and forth again and again to observe it. It's because I feel embarrassed even to be looking in at a store window. Unfortunately I've never gotten my clothes made at a tailor yet, and so I see an elegant shop I would just go past while imagining the conversation between the customers and the owner of the shop. Inside the dimly-lit shop there are mannequins and rolled-up tape measures, and woolen fabrics piled up on a shelf; everything is very antiquated. To go into such shop as a customer and get my clothes made is my dream. Also because I'm collecting eyeglasses, I unintentionally catch sight of an optician's shop. Glasses that are being handled along with ornaments and watches at such shop like this in a town are, though it's not a nice way to put it, very old-fashioned (That's what I like though...) and, I'm quite attracted by them. In the window of a shoe store, there are casual sandals that should be used only to walk around the neighborhood and leather shoes being displayed, and I found some kind of beauty in the way the shelf with an old brand name has been rusted. At such shops like these, there are so many items you can never find on a bustling street. I wish to be live in a town where there is a shopping district with these kinds of shops.

Of course, there are those shops also in the Nakadoori Boulevard. Yet, since an optician's shop had its shutter down, it might have been closed. Then there is a tailor next to it. This one is still open, but looks a bit small. There are some shoe stores along the street as well. The way the sandals are piled up mountain-high is unchanged. There is also a bakeriy, vegetable shop, fruits shop, chicken shop, butcher, hardware shop, and a laundry. Though there is no supermarket, what we generally need in our daily lives is mostly available. It is quite a nice town. I guess I wouldn't feel it inconvenient to live here. If necessary, I can also go to a department store in front of the station where I can find everything. For a while I imagined myself living here. Then I realized that the shopping street must be completely dark by the time I get home. I normally return home from work quite late. That means I wouldn't have the chance to enjoy the shopping street in the afternoon anyway. That's too bad. Well, I decided to give up my plans to move house.

I entered a bakery in front of a park. There is a small space about the size of two tables by the counter where breads are being placed where we can eat what we bought. A cup of coffee or tea is 180 yen. Looking at a pot being placed at the storefront, tea bags, and cups, I got the impression that everything was prepared as to serve tea or something for regular customers. There was an old woman serving customers by herself, and she was having a chat with her acquaintances. She took an order of two bean-jam buns and a loaf of bread on the phone, and started chatting again, ÒBread is selling well today,Ó or something like that. While I was drinking tea and taking bites out of a sandwich, the person who had called the order showed up. It was also an old woman. Then they were having a chat for a while. This bakery seemed to be serving as a saloon for the town. In the meantime a person with child and a couple stopped by and bought some sweetened buns and other kind of breads. The shop was doing quite well. The sandwich tasted pretty good, and there was a great variety of breads. The price was reasonable as well. It's no wonder that it was flourishing.

After resting for a while to help my digestion, I left the shop and went down a street. The street was linked to the Ikebukuro Sakashita Boulevard shopping district along the way. Also in this street, there were such shops selling paper, fish cakes, tea, and hardware, that were unchanged since olden times. Since the two shopping streets were connected together, that street looked like a long snake. I realized that there were some cars passing through this shopping street, which is where everyone ought to walk, at terrific speed. That made me indignant. I suppose that they were using it as a byroad to a main street. Well, that was terrible. A shopping street is a path for walking. Besides, coming into such a narrow path is no better than going into someone's garden. They should at least slow down when passing through a street that is not made to be used by a car.

Then I also went out to the main street. I decided to keep going along the street to Kaname-cho with a view to having a look at the Nagasaki Fuji Mound by going a little deeper into the town. Fuji Mound is also a very interesting subject. I think that I'll talk about it some other time.

Translated by Maiko Noda