Today I walked my old 'hood, Omotesando. In some ways Tokyo seems exactly the same as when I left it. Then there are the jarring reminders that time has past, such as substantial additions and deletions to the landscape.

In Japan buildings are fashion items: built just to be torn down in a few years and replaced with something new. My local Kinokuniya international supermarket has been replaced with a parking lot and moved to a new location down Aoyama dori. There is the new, very cool Tod’s flagship store on Omotesando (see some great photos of the Tod's store from Jean Snow on MOCO Tokyo).

At Kiddyland, a children's toy store, a darn near pornographic picture is used to sell "girl's briefs."