A tragic incident

The news about Akihabara`s stabbing incident was very shocking. I went to Akihabara the day after the incident, and I was moved to tears when I saw all the flowers that people had left on the side-walk in the memory of those who lost their lives. there were TV crews and police everywhere. I felt uneasy walking in a place where so many people had lost their lives.
The incident was a wake-up call for me. It reminded me of a conversation I had on my first hanami. My first Hanami was with two Japanese friends. One of them tried to explain to me why cherry blossoms are so important to Japanese people. He said because they are very beautiful but they are short-lived...in a sense they represent life.
Death can be sudden...without any warning. The only option we have, is to live every minute as if it is our last.
I feel for the family of those who were killed and injured. It must be very difficult to realize that the casual goodbye they said to their loved ones in the morning, was the last conversation they had. It makes me re-evaluate my own relationships. Sometimes we hold a grudge against a friend or a family member over something insignificant...and we only regret it when it is too late.
Life can be busy with lots of priorities to joggle. So sometimes we forget about the most important things..like spending time with family and friends.

Elizabeth

Tokyo's Newest Subway Line

Well, we're just a little over a week away from the opening of the Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line, the newest subway line in Tokyo. In my travels around the capital, I've been constantly bombarded by advertisements for the new line. According to Wikipedia, "Fukutoshin" translates to "secondary city center." This makes sense, since the new subway line will connect Ikebukuro, Shinjuku, and Shibuya.

One of my favourite things about Tokyo and other big Japanese cities like Yokohama, Osaka, and Nagoya is that they have excellent transit systems. Back home in Canada most big cities have terrible transit systems and, as a result, there are serious traffic problems. Toronto, where I attended university, has one of the best systems in the country, but it is nothing like Tokyo. While Tokyo has dozens of subway and private railway lines, Toronto has only two and a half subway lines. I say "and a half" because the third subway line is only half-completed. The governments of Ontario and Toronto did not want to spend the money to build the entire line, so only a piece of it was built. There are plans to eventually extend the subway line, but it may take a while.

Thankfully, Toronto has convenient streetcar (or tram) and bus routes that help make getting around easier. But, given how cold Canadian winters can be, it would be nice to be able to stay underground!