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The end of the beginning

by J. C. Greenway
9 comments
The Teas That Bind
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A short extract of a post that features in my book about the Great East Japan Earthquake, The Teas That Bind:

It feels as if it has been a long time coming, following the many steps that have brought me from there to here. Finally, barring a few administrative hurdles still to be negotiated, I will be a Tokyo resident.

I have other plans for this new start. Including the locating of the perfect writing cafe, maybe to get a bike or to walk around more, not because the trains are stopped this time, but for the fun of it. There are bars to find, friends to meet and streets to explore. I can’t wait to see what Tokyo has to show me once I am a resident and no longer a visitor.

So this isn’t an end, or the beginning of the end. It is perhaps the end of the beginning.

Sayonara Kashiwa. Konnichiwa Tokyo.

And remember…

To read more of this post, please download a copy of The Teas That Bind, the story of my experiences in Japan after the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011, available now from Amazon and Lulu.


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9 comments

Finbar 23 April 2011 - 4:06 am

I have a bike outside my apartment that you can have but you will have to knock off the lock. Dont know about cafes but there’s an AMAZING bar I was introduced to in Takadanobaba right before I left..

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Joanne Greenway 23 April 2011 - 1:44 pm

You should have said, I would have had it! Not sure I want to get into thievery given my background… how would I know which one to steal?
If you remember how to find that bar, send word! I need a new local, where everybody knows my name.

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BenSix 28 April 2011 - 12:36 am

Love the idea of a perfect writing cafe. I see mine as falling somewhere between the diner in Seinfeld and the establishment in Van Gough’s Cafe Terrace at Night. This is the place for them, o’ course…

http://www.classiccafes.co.uk/New.html

(By the way, I hope that’s not supposed to be the fat lady in the advert. Otherwise I fear for Japanese women.)

Reply
Joanne Greenway 29 April 2011 - 12:57 pm

I’ve been pursuing the idea of the ‘perfect writing cafe’ ever since I saw a picture of Simone de Beauvoir on the wall of Cafe Flore in Paris over the seat she used to write in. Haven’t found it yet, but if you’re near East London you should check out Pellicci’s from the link you posted – it is incredible, if perhaps a little busy to sit in nursing a tea and scribbling all day.

Will let you know how my search progresses…

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scarlettraces 30 April 2011 - 6:01 am

that photo made me smile very much ^_^

And the idea of a perfect writing cafe is something i’ve been searching for as well, i hope your search goes well…..

Reply
Joanne Greenway 30 April 2011 - 9:02 pm

Thanks Scarlet, I’m pleased it did!
Where you are used to be full of lovely cafes, hope they haven’t all turned into chains?

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