I was in Shibuya yesterday evening before I headed off to Haneda Airport for my flight back to Malaysia.
Even though I have been in Tokyo for five years, I still find myself discovering something new all the time. And the joy and surprises of these tiny discoveries can sometimes accumulate into something wonderful.
For example, I don't think I've ever seen Shibuya at dusk looking like this.
![Shibuya still surprises me](http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8122/8615173541_56dac8c3b8.jpg)
The above photo was taken with my iPhone, but in the end, I decided to whip out my Canon 7D to get a few more shots.
![Sunset in Shibuya](http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8381/8618835523_9b775026bf.jpg)
![Shibuya dusk](http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8540/8618833837_736a3a028b.jpg)
I then found myself wandering through the Shibuya Crossing, a place I absolutely loathed and despised when depicted in cinema (seen it in too many student films of dubious quality, or films of Tokyo by foreign filmmakers of dubious quality), wondering whether I could just catch something interesting with my camera. I started snapping photos at people, at places, at faces, at lights, seeing whether anything would end up nicely. (in my deluded mind, I imagined I was doing something similar to what Simon Yam was doing in the movie "SPARROW", by Johnnie To)
I liked this photo. A woman lost amidst the Shibuya chaos, perhaps she is in a hurry, perhaps she is trying to run away from something, someone, from the gaze of my intrusive camera.
![A woman lost amidst the Shibuya chaos](http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8245/8618832299_778766fdb7.jpg)
Meanwhile, above me, the Starbucks in Tsutaya was crowded as always. Five years in Tokyo and I think I have only managed to get a seat there once.
![Shibuya Tsutaya](http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8103/8619936756_efd15698b6.jpg)
I saw someone holding tightly to her phone, I imagined that she was waiting for a phone call from someone, an important one. Or maybe she was just in the middle of a game of Candy Crush.
![Waiting for an important phone call](http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8535/8618832067_51e093fffc.jpg)
Where is she going?
![Where is she going?](http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8396/8618831897_55c846f0ba.jpg)
Where was I going?
![Coca-cola bus in Shibuya](http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8113/8619934566_28bf1be160.jpg)
Where was I now? I had no idea. No idea at all. Where was this place? All that flashed into my eyes were the countless shapes of people walking by to nowhere. Again and again I called out for ________ from the dead center of this place that was no place.
Even though I have been in Tokyo for five years, I still find myself discovering something new all the time. And the joy and surprises of these tiny discoveries can sometimes accumulate into something wonderful.
For example, I don't think I've ever seen Shibuya at dusk looking like this.
![Shibuya still surprises me](http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8122/8615173541_56dac8c3b8.jpg)
The above photo was taken with my iPhone, but in the end, I decided to whip out my Canon 7D to get a few more shots.
![Sunset in Shibuya](http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8381/8618835523_9b775026bf.jpg)
![Shibuya dusk](http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8540/8618833837_736a3a028b.jpg)
I then found myself wandering through the Shibuya Crossing, a place I absolutely loathed and despised when depicted in cinema (seen it in too many student films of dubious quality, or films of Tokyo by foreign filmmakers of dubious quality), wondering whether I could just catch something interesting with my camera. I started snapping photos at people, at places, at faces, at lights, seeing whether anything would end up nicely. (in my deluded mind, I imagined I was doing something similar to what Simon Yam was doing in the movie "SPARROW", by Johnnie To)
I liked this photo. A woman lost amidst the Shibuya chaos, perhaps she is in a hurry, perhaps she is trying to run away from something, someone, from the gaze of my intrusive camera.
![A woman lost amidst the Shibuya chaos](http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8245/8618832299_778766fdb7.jpg)
Meanwhile, above me, the Starbucks in Tsutaya was crowded as always. Five years in Tokyo and I think I have only managed to get a seat there once.
![Shibuya Tsutaya](http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8103/8619936756_efd15698b6.jpg)
I saw someone holding tightly to her phone, I imagined that she was waiting for a phone call from someone, an important one. Or maybe she was just in the middle of a game of Candy Crush.
![Waiting for an important phone call](http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8535/8618832067_51e093fffc.jpg)
![Where is she going?](http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8396/8618831897_55c846f0ba.jpg)
Where was I going?
![Coca-cola bus in Shibuya](http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8113/8619934566_28bf1be160.jpg)
Where was I now? I had no idea. No idea at all. Where was this place? All that flashed into my eyes were the countless shapes of people walking by to nowhere. Again and again I called out for ________ from the dead center of this place that was no place.