やけに道が混んでいる日だと思ったら三連休の前だったのだ。渋滞のなかを帰るのもなんだし、西新宿を散歩することにした。風もあったから、こんなときに京王百貨店の屋上に行ったら気持ちがよいだろう、と見当をつけて上ってみると、そこはビア・ガーデンの喧騒だった。完全なる宴会場だ。どう考えても夕風を浴びながらスカイラインを眺めるようなムードではなかった。ほかの百貨店の屋上もきっと事情は同じだ。遣る瀬がない。ビア・ガーデン？ へへ、笑える。トラジディだよ、まったく。
0時過ぎに走りにでる。昇ったばかりの月がきれい。調布の水木しげるさんの像まで走って、像の肩を抱いた。そうして水木さんとすこし話す。力が湧く。帰路はぶっ飛ばした、と言ってもキロ5分ペースだ。往復で10キロ。
I noticed the roads were unusually congested—and then I realized it was the day before a long weekend. Rather than crawl home through traffic, I decided to take a walk around Nishi-Shinjuku. There was a breeze, and I figured the rooftop of Keio Department Store might offer a pleasant view in the evening air.
But when I got up there, it was a full-blown beer garden—loud, boisterous, unmistakably a party zone. No place to quietly take in the skyline. I suppose every department store rooftop is the same. It was disheartening.
A beer garden? Ha—what a joke. A tragedy.
Past midnight, I went out for a run. The moon had just risen and was beautiful. I ran all the way to the statue of Shigeru Mizuki in Chōfu, placed my arm around his shoulder, and had a little chat. It gave me strength. On the way back, I let loose—or so I thought. My pace was still around five minutes per kilometer. A 10-kilometer run.
Konome-ame 