shashasha

Strolling down a narrow alley in Pontocho one summer afternoon, I saw a geisha dressed in a white kimono walking in the scorching heat under the sun. They always move fluidly, wearing a large obi [sash] around the centre of their body - it seems as if their joy and sorrow are tied around their waist. The area along the Takasegawa River next to Pontocho is the red-light district of Kyoto. I like walking along this river - as you go south, the city changes from a city of pleasure to a city of downtown life. I find this city most attractive in spring when the cherry blossoms bloom, and when I can see Kyoto girl；；happily walking across the Sanjo Ohashi Bridge in yukata [summer informal cotton kimono] with an obi tied around their waist.

Enoshima is the area with Enoshima Island and a sandy beach between the Kugenuma and Koshigoe coasts. Passing through the windbreak of pine trees, I saw countless people in bathing suits. Feet and buttocks covered in black sand, and bodies sticky with sweat — these sights jumped into my eyes through the camera lens. The sand was burning hot - I moved from one person to another on the sand as I spoke to them, but I rarely met anyone I liked. After the year 2000, the world got dull and I stopped going to Enoshima in the summer. Every year, the summer sea sadly fades away with memories of the hot sand.