Decades ago, I strolled around the quiet neighborhood of Kaminoge in Setagaya Ward with professor Shuichi Kato, the scholar who convinced me to come study in Tokyo. I vividly recollect, on my first day in Japan, encountering the fragrance of tiny orange kinmokusei (fragrant olive) blossoms as Kato spoke passionately of Japanese art on our walk to the Gotoh Museum. Even then, I knew I'd recall the day with joy.
A whiff of the same flower blooming this September brings with it potent nostalgia, so despite the danger of displacing old memories with new realities, I jump off the Oimachi Line at Kaminoge Station. Kaminoge — the name means "upper fields" — has seen a lot of change from its agricultural days and, alas, both my professor and his abode are no more. Still, assuming that the Gotoh Museum has been lovingly maintained, I look for memories that direction.
Crossing the midday roar of Kanpachi Road, I stop to check out a hand-painted sign reading "Uncle Sam's." It's a U.S.-style sandwich shop, filled with customers calling out conversations with staff behind the counter. I slide onto a heavy wooden bench and order the shop's premium sandwich — Sam's.