THE DIMMING LIGHTS OF UENO

Words & Pics: Japanese Correspondent Chris Eury

Having no plans, I intently partook in my Ueno routine. It involves comfortable clothing, leaving my phone at home, and a camera. Ueno is a downtown district of Tokyo. It doesn’t have the bright lights of Shibuya or the glitz of Ginza. It’s relaxed and gritty and wonderfully less pretentious, but still undeniably Tokyo.

I met a homeless man near the JR Ueno Station ‘Panda Bridge Entrance’ and had a worthwhile conversation with my limited Japanese. We talked for a mostly pleasant fifteen minutes. I was trying to get some shots of the panda as he was rightfully concerned I was exploiting the homeless. That wasn’t my intent, but I couldn’t help the fact that several were standing in front of a stuffed bear sitting four meters tall.

Tokyo has many things, but a surplus of big ass bears it does not. I planned on getting an isolated shot from a distance but, after waiting a good 90 minutes for people to clear out for my convenience, I concluded that was an unfortunate impossibility. They did make the shots more appealing. The man told me they were all waiting for the onigiri (rice ball) handouts at 8:00 pm. At 8:05, there was no onigiri in sight. He was getting anxious, or at least that’s what I gathered from his trembling legs and nonsensical muttering. To his apparent relief, volunteers showed up shortly afterward and got the whole thing rolling. Before securing his place in line, he told me he used to be a “salary man” in Shinjuku (perhaps Tokyo’s busiest of business districts) and I told him about my company folding two months earlier.

The English conversation bubble has burst yet again here in Japan. After being bought out, my company has been closing the vast majority of its locations, not unlike our rivals. People are trying to make sense out of this economy by cutting corners, so guess what they toss out when they see a $300 per month hobby in their budget.

There were hundreds of homeless, mostly men; some wearing newer clothes than others. I spotted a few suits, and that’s where the mind fucking began. I’ve been lucky to secure employment, but in all actuality, how close am I to waiting in line? I tried not thinking about it. I should’ve tried harder. Should I keep trying? How much trust can I realistically expect myself to place in a company trying to turn a profit in today’s economy? Can I trust myself? How much job security can I even pretend to have? Will my rice be warm?