I spent the morning trying to deal with my camera which went into freeze mode. I was in a bit of panic as a result. It's funny, I used to do a lot of photograhy but then I stopped. Nearly twenty years later, I started taking pictures again and now the camera has become my contant companion. I can't imagine not taking pictures while in Tokyo. So I took my sick camera to Canon's repair center in Shinjuku. They told me to come back in three hours unless I heard back from them, which meant the problem would take more than a day to fix. I didn't get the call but when I went to pick the camera up, I found out that the camera underwent a major operation. They had to replace the entire digital brain board. "Was it a defected camera? " I asked the technician. "I just bought it in Los Angeles in May." As he wrapped the camera in plastic, he said to me, "Each camera is made by hand so sometimes these problems happen." I didn't expect him to admit to possible human error. I felt relieved in some ways, knowing that these machines are still handmade. What surprised me was they didn't charge me a Yen to fix it. No warranty, no receipt. Just the fact that it was one of their cameras was a good enough reason to give me good and free after care service. Sometimes, you need a nice break like this.

My camera was like new again. I took pictures on my way back to Shibuya - on the train I made my first.

Girl sleeping in crowded subway

I took more shots as I got off the train. People walk very fast in Tokyo. It is such a busy bustling city. I am fascinated by what I see. Because of the rain, my light is flat but it doesn't matter.

Young people still love to hang out in Shibuya as I did when I was a teenager. The bronze statue of Hachiko in front of the train station is a favorite rendezvous spot. The city could make this spot a little nicer, considering what this dog symbolizes to the Japanese people, which is loyalty. Story goes that Hachiko used to greet his master at the station everyday, even after the master died. Hachiko became a stray dog but he continued to show up at the station and wait for his master. People started taking notice of the big stray Akita and started feeding him. My 86 year old father who was a teenager at the time this story took place remembers Hachiko. He was a good dog. He is like my dog Ana. I am missing her a lot. I remembered how she was ready to get on the car to go to the airport with me. I can't wait to see her again. I am sure she is waiting for me.

Hachiko-the loyal dog statue at Shibuya station

Young people in Japan are so much bolder and adventurous with their clothes and hair than when I was growing up. My teenage years which dates back to the sixties was spent mostly in a navy blue uniform. My hair was neatly parted to the side with a comb. None of that messy look was permitted. It was only on Sundays that I got to wear street clothes but none of us dared to wear anything revealing. I remember a short red plaid dress that took me a lot of courage to wear out. Now, anything goes in Tokyo, especially Shibuya.

Shibuya Station