Post by Nicholas Paolenti on Feb 14, 2012 20:10:33 GMT -6
As the sun slowly began its descent from its peak height in the afternoon sky Nicholas slowly and calmly walked along the sidewalk, savoring the relative quiet of the semi suburban area. There was still the occasional car and truck here and there, as well as people passing him every other minute or two, but it was nothing like the more urbanized areas of Tokyo. While the megalopolis was indeed a testament to the age and industrious attitude of Japan's workforce, having grown to the point where many of its districts were considered cities unto themselves, Nicholas still did and always would have a soft spot for the less developed areas of the city, much like the region he grew up in back in the United States. Far from rural, but not at all the industrialized urban surroundings that many expected of the vast majority of Tokyo - no, this was the more commercialized and otherwise residential area towards the outskirts of the city. One of the main reasons Nicholas liked the area, apart from its resemblance to the towns at the foot of the Appalacians, was the fact that it was so quiet. No crowds, no constant traffic, just the tranquil, lived in feel of the residential area that it was. Fewer people to avoid, and thus more time to simply enjoy his surroundings after his classes and the several train and bus stops needed to get as close to his apartment complex as possible. The warm weather was a nice touch as well - summer was particularly nice here, and he would have been moving far more quickly had it been colder. As it was Nicholas was so lost in thought, carefully looking up in a way that avoided craning his neck back but enjoying the sunlight, that he almost didn't notice the large wooden pole he nearly walked into at the last moment, stopping in place just as the flash of red came into his vision and narrowly avoiding a rather embarrassing - and not to mention revealing - collision with the object.
As Nicholas stopped and stepped back from it he looked up again as before, but this time at the structure he'd almost walked into rather than the sky - one of the iconic red gates that typically marked the passageways to the many shrines and temples that were scattered across Japan's landscape. As he stared at the gate in mild annoyance - that was the 8th time within the last two or three days he'd nearly walked into it, and countless times before that - Nicholas's academic curiosity couldn't help but wonder exactly how old the structure was. As he continued to stand there for several more moments looking upward, Nicholas casually turned his attention back towards the path home before looking up the stairway that led to the temple at the top of the hill, mind breifly debating for a moment before making a decision that more or less followed the rationale of "Why the hell not?" Stepping off of the sidewalk, Nicholas began climbing the stairway, wondering again why he was going out of his way to visit the temple. It wasn't the first time, either - he'd already briefly visited the shrine a number of times before, the first time out of simply curiosity, then again out of the fact he enjoyed the atmosphere of the place, but each subsequent time after that felt less like a conscious choice and more like a simple compulsion. Shaking the thought off with a slight inwards shrug, Nicholas continued to climb the stairs at a quick but relaxed pace.
