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TOKYO ALBUM > Tokyo Photo News > Tokyo Photo News backnumbers > Tokyo Photo News 2008 > Tokyo Photo News January 2008
Governor offers encouragement to staff dispatched to Yubari City
On January 16, Governor Ishihara handed letters of appointment to Shumpei Momosawa, an official of the Metropolitan Government Bureau of Taxation, and Naomichi Suzuki, an official of the Bureau of Social Welfare and Public Health, who, at the suggestion of Vice Governor Inose, were dispatched to start work at Yubari City, Hokkaido from January 21, in order to play a part in the city’s financial reconstruction. The two officials are scheduled to remain in their new posts for two years. Governor Ishihara offered them encouragement, saying, “It will be a good experience. Offer them all the suggestions you can.” Vice Governor Inose then joined them for a commemorative photograph.
Gilded Gems (Winter Sweet)
For reasons unknown, many of the flowers that bloom early in the year are colored yellow: daffodils, pheasant’s-eye, and, from late January to February, Winter Sweet. Machida City’s Tadao Park is home to roughly 70 Winter Sweet trees, of which some, including the full moon variety, were already blooming in full glory the day this photograph was taken. The delicate petals, in their perfection, could almost be mistaken for artificial wax flowers, and their sweet fragrance, carried on the wind, was a natural perfume. Park visitors cupped the flowers in their hands to savor the fragrance.
A dusting of snow in the heart of the city
Before dawn on January 23 snow began falling in the center of the city, marking the first snow accumulation in Tokyo in two years. There was not much, but just enough snow fell to lightly blanket the ground and the roofs of buildings on this day, which had recorded the coldest temperatures of the season. In Shinjuku Chuo Park, located right next to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government office, the contrast between the trees and the snow was reminiscent of Japanese sumi-e, an ink painting which is created using black ink and an economy of brush strokes.
A disaster management drill for stranded commuters
On January 25 at Shinjuku Station, approximately 1,400 people took part in a disaster management drill. The drill was held based on the scenario that an estimated 170,000 people could be stranded in the Shinjuku Station area at the time of a major earthquake. At the West Exit of Shinjuku Station, drill participants followed the directions of department store and railway staff to exit through the ticket gates of each railway company, and evacuate to a designated building. In addition, at Shinjuku Chuo Park, a drill involving the installation of temporary toilet facilities and a drill utilizing the 171 emergency telephone message system were carried out. Drinking water was also distributed from a mobile water station.
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