Rainbow Bridge

  • Going Down in a Haze of Story

    For various reasons, I got to look at YouTube for the first time in years this morning and, by sheer coincidence, got to see a video captured exactly 10 years ago to the day. The footage came from a fire that had broken out on the spectacular Rainbow Bridge, which links the Tokyo mainland (well, another reclaimed section) with the artificial island of Odaiba. I was working in the Yokoso Rainbow Tower, an exceptional work of architecture that reflected the flavor of the then-recently burst economic bubble when it was completed in 1995. I’d just finished my lunch break and returned to the office to see Rainbow Bridge on fire….

  • Art World Aoyama

    It’s hard to believe that I was deeply disappointed to leave our old workplace near Odaiba because I loved the walk across the Rainbow Bridge but the art-filled district of Aoyama where I work now is really making up for it. I love wandering the streets at lunchtime to find little nooks and crannies filled with unexpected beauties, and the Aoyama area, one of Tokyo’s trendiest, really puts them on show. I’m only a few minutes’ walk away from the wonderful (and free) Spiral art gallery and cafe, which regularly puts on outstanding displays. I remember when I shared my disappointment of relocating, my doctor told me that most people…