The Last Photo From Japan

Last week I published post about the last photo I took in Korea, so today it’s time to publish the last photo I took in Japan before returning to America. Before showing the photo I need to note that this was the last photo I took with my main camera. There were four more photos I took after this with my phone, though none of them are all that interesting. The first two of those photos were from a Shake Shack in Tokyo where I got a final meal before heading to the airport, and then the last two were at Narita International Airport, with the true final photo from Japan being a boring shot of the Japan Airlines plane I boarded. Anyways, with that technicality stated let’s get to that last photo with my main camera.

On my final day in Tokyo I left my backpack in a locker at Tokyo Station and then set out to do some last-minute sightseeing around the city. That sightseeing culminated with a visit to the observation deck of the Roppongi Hills Mori Tower. I had visited Roppongi during my first stay in Tokyo to take in the nighttime view of the city—a story you can read here—and this time I would be looking out at Tokyo during the daytime. It was a mostly cloudy October day in Tokyo but there was still a good view to be had up there. I walked around the observation deck, taking photos and trying to absorb as much as I could in the short time that I had left there. This photo was the last one I captured before spending my final minutes staring out at the city one last time. The urban landscape spread out before me, as far as I could see in almost every direction. In years past I had been up in observation decks overlooking other great cities like Paris and New York, but Tokyo was something else and there was a certain sadness knowing that I’d soon be gone. For as long as it would last I tried to live in that moment of beholding the Endless City. Alas, time waits for no one and when my time was up I had to begin my trek to Tokyo Station to grab my backpack and bid farewell to Japan. This last view of the city, however, will stick with me for years to come.