Ochanomizu Station | Feeling the signs of spring while waiting for the Tokyo-bound train on the Chuo Line platform

I stand on the Chuo Line platform at Ochanomizu Station.

It is nighttime.
The tracks, illuminated by the lights, look more sharply defined than they do during the day.

The electronic display shows the word "Tokyo".
It should be here in a few minutes, but those few minutes feel a bit long.

A Chuo Line rapid train passes by on the opposite side.
It speeds through like a ribbon of light, without slowing down.

Trains that stop, and trains that pass through.
Even here, the difference is clear.

I stand at the edge of the platform and lift my gaze just a little.

The lights of buildings float in the darkness.

Juntendo University Hospital.
And the Institute of Science Tokyo Hospital.

Both are places where the lights never go out, even at this hour.

Time here moves independently of the train schedule.
It neither waits nor passes through; it simply continues.

Major construction is underway around the station.

The outlines of the equipment look sharper than they did when I saw them during the day.
Illuminated by the lights, they emerge like the skeleton of the city.

This place, too, will likely change its shape little by little.

I take a bottle of coffee out of my pocket.
I open the cap and take a sip.

It is not warm.
But this is just right.

Only the sensation of it passing down my throat remains clear.

There are a fair number of people on the platform.
Yet, no one interacts with anyone else.

Each person has their own way home.I am one of them.

I am one of them.

When I get home, I think I will watch a drama.
Something about winter, something about spring.

Even just the title is a little vague, a little gentle.

At the turn of the seasons, things like this are just right.

I drink my coffee once more.

The wind feels just a little bit different.
There is a slight softness within the cold.

The seasons do not change in visible forms, but rather from places like this.

Before long, the train's lights draw near.

Light stretches out over the rails.

Slowing down gradually, the train enters the platform.
The doors open.

I take a step forward, following the flow of people.

I do not look back.

Perhaps by the time I stand here again, spring will have advanced a little further.