It begins like this

Thus begins this Japanese trip.

It took a while to become real, this idea, of coming to Japan, it took a while. Much longer than it took this car to leave a streak of light. It was going in the same direction as us, through the district of Tokyo where we are now: Sumida.

Sumida, which is large, in this area is made up of small houses, all different, low. Many are separated by narrow alleys, where cars cannot circulate. In one of these alleys we stay: there is a silence that you don't expect from a city. At night, given the heat, we open the window of the room, which has a mosquito net, and you can hear the sound of Tokyo coming in, which is a light sound in this area. Like all big cities, Tokyo has its own voice: only here, where we are, it is a very discreet voice.

Today, in Ginza, closer to downtown, I heard for the first time the voice of Tokyo by day.