Tokyo:
It is a whirl, a twirl, a blur.
![](https://test.passionpassport.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/lara-passage-japan-fashion-girls-400x600.jpg)
![](https://test.passionpassport.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/lara-passage-japan-Godzilla-City-400x600.jpg)
![](https://test.passionpassport.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/lara-passage-japan-Teacup-architecture-400x600.jpg)
![](https://test.passionpassport.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/lara-passage-japan-pagoda-Sensoji-400x600.jpg)
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Facades of steel and glass form angles against the blue sky. Mind-boggling crowds of humans move like liquid across wide intersections, down shopping streets, and through perfectly manicured parks. Kitschy pop music finds my ears as I stand on a corner.
Press a flashing button to order a steaming bowl of ramen, and listen to the salarymen slurp.
Under the massive red lantern of Kaminarimon, the gold-topped pagoda caches the sun as a girl in a gem-colored kimono shuffles by. Incense fills the courtyard. We’re transported back in time.
![](https://test.passionpassport.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/lara-passage-japan-Yoyogi-Park-600x400.jpg)
![](https://test.passionpassport.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/lara-passage-japan-shishito-pepper-600x400.jpg)
![](https://test.passionpassport.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/lara-passage-japan-kimono-girls-600x400.jpg)
![](https://test.passionpassport.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/lara-passage-japan-Plate-kushiyaki-600x400.jpg)
![](https://test.passionpassport.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/lara-passage-japan-Meiji-JIngu2-600x400.jpg)
A long dirt road passes under a graceful torii. Hundreds of wishes, written on wood, dangle in the dappled light. The curve of a roof, the shape of a tree, etch themselves into my mind.
The evening lights up. Neon! Bells and balls and flashing lights. We run through the cacophony of a pachinko parlor, laughing.
We steal away to the narrow streets. Magic alleys. Little doors. A zig. A zag. The smell of sweet soy and sizzling meat. We nestle into a tiny spot.
Skewers of kushiyaki hot off the grill: shishito peppers, perfectly charred, mushrooms, and savory balls of minced chicken arrive. One stick, two stick, three stick, four … The food keeps coming.
Foggy windows, foggy heads. We spill back into the Japanese night.