Probably I should have tried getting a job for the summer and make some well-needed money, but haven't been in Japan for that long yet, so it's nice to have some time off. I figured I'll probably just be getting more and more busy in the future.
While it's nice to have time to relax, I had no idea how easy it is to get busy all day with just doing some cleaning and going to the supermarket and studying a bit.
One thing I've noticed now and even had time to document is that the world's probably most ugly building happens to be right outside my window! In Sweden and especially in an old city like Stockholm, the government is very restrictive about letting companies build new buildings. Hell, you're practically not even allowed to put up a sign anywhere in Stockholm. While it's good to preserve the uniqueness of an old beautiful city, it means not enough places are built for people to live and it gets kind of too conservative sometimes. Things seem to start happening to renew and expand Stockholm more quickly lately though.
In a young city in Japan like Sapporo, it's kind of the opposite. It seems any kind of building can be built anytime anywhere. It creates a kind of uplifting chaos. A mix of all kinds of buildings packed together on a small space. It's not very beautiful though, but it somehow makes me happy. Kind of an uplifting chaos.
You can find lots and lots of enormous shopping malls and the commercialism in Japan is like nothing I've seen anywhere. I've been to the United States two times, which is supposed to be the home of commercialism and I've been to quite a few other countries, but nothing even comes close to Japan.
Anyway, I took some photos from my balcony, thought it might be interesting, and surely, isn't that pink/white striped building the most ugly thing you have ever seen?
Yes, I mean the pink/white striped apartment building in the foreground, what were the architect thinking about? Can someone explain to me? (Christian maybe?). The tall building in the background is the JR Tower at the Sapporo station.
It actually looks slightly better (less bad) by night.
Also from our balcony, to the north. A pachinko hall. Meaning a place where people can go when they feel like wasting their money on watching small metal balls bouncing around and smoking too many cigarettes. I've never tried it, probably never will.
Bonus: Fireworks over the Sapporo Factory (huge shopping mall) to the south, also taken from our house but not our flat.
4 comments:
Hi Tomas,
No I can't explain the ugly building. And I've actually seen much uglier buildings.
"It actually looks slightly better (less bad) by night."
That's like saying "honey, you're so pretty when the lights go out" :-)
-CW
Good to hear that you´re catching up on your domestic skills and doing your best with scrubbing the bathroom.
Happy birthday by the way! We celebrated you over here yesterday, it´s a pity you couldn´t come :-)
Take care and have a good holiday!
Cousin
Anette
Christian: Kul att höra från dig, hoppas allt är bra i SF.
Anette:
Tack för födelsedagshälsningarna! Pappa sade att ni har en knodd på gång, estimerad till julafton, grattis! Hoppas allt går bra med det.
Känner mig för övrigt lite dålig som inte uppdaterat min blogg på länge, men har väl helt enkelt inte brytt mig om att sätta mig och skriva på ett tag. Får väl nåt ryck snart förhoppningsvis.
Post a Comment