-photos by Solveig Boergen
Meeting a friend of a friend for the first time on a stairwell as we descended into the lower basements of the club in Shinjuku on Saturday night, she asked me to name her perfume.
I could not do so.
Probably back in the day, when a smell nut could identify all the main perfumes, this would have been a cinch, but at that moment, as I leaned in, nothing particular came to mind. Just a pleasant freshness: perhaps it had faded in all the urban humidity.
Anyway, she told me she loved my book, and I was delighted. After that, they got sucked up in the crowd when we eventually got down below and I didn’t see them again. But the next day, she said she felt as if she had stepped into another world coming to Kabukicho after all this time in relative seclusion (as did I ). Just one notorious nightlife area of Shinjuku, a neighbourhood which itself forms part of the biggest city in the world.
I feel her photographs of the street corner we were on capture some of the strangeness, deep man-made artificiality, and allure.
The Black Narcissus 
Once again, absolutely gorgeous photos. As for naming someone’s perfume, sometimes I can’t even name my own perfume, especially if it was something I sprayed on in the morning. Ah, the perils of owning too many perfumes.
!
I mean there are literally hundreds of thousands of potions out there now – it’s impossible.
Glad you like these shots – my crappy iPhone lens couldn’t have captured the darkly yellow neon of this electrical honeycomb- seedy with glee
O the garish glitz of the modern world. Whether it is fragrances or neon lights, the constant overwhelm competing for our human attention is exhausting.
The only place I have experienced similar to Shinjuku is Times Square, NYC. All the bright lights and gleaming advertisements seemed to contradict the stench of petrol fumes, rotting garbage, and the beef and potatoes of fast food frying in hot grease.
How brilliantly put; hilarious poetry.
I haven’t been there but Times Square looks way more flashy and ‘open’ ( but FAR less neonic )
PS
Thank GOD we live in Kamakura – I need trees
Even the photos are a bit overwhelming! Gorgeous contrasts.
It hyperactivates the brain.
We once had a very sensitive artist from England stay and after a night in Tokyo she couldn’t sleep.
I completely understand that! And you’re right about Times Square. Similar vibe but less concentrated.
Glorious photos!!! Rarely am I ever able to name someones perfume, unless it is one of the really popular foul ones that assault my nose, those are ingrained in my memory.
Oh how many of those there are!
Truly!