Day 16: Back to my alma mater (one of them)

Day 16: (21 Dec) 'Tis (almost) the night before Christmas and my plan today is to head to a seminar at Tokyo University at 6.30pm. It's also Friday, so I mean really...that must have 'political tragic' written all over it. Was up early preparing some notes for the 612 cross to Spencer (which in the end didn't eventuate due to some pretty dramatic news in Logan taking precedence).  Nonetheless, reading about politics is never wasted time. It was also helpful given that the topic of the evening's seminar an initial analysis of Sunday's election. The presentation was going to be given by Professor Steven Reed, perhaps one of the preeminent Japan psephologists. He has a memory databank the equal of our Antony Green.  

The initial election analysis and commentary

I had also planned to get back to the library today but opted to review the materials I picked up yesterday and spend some time researching at home for my next trip into the library when it opened again in the New Year. 

Coffee at Todai, 6.12pm Bris time

When it came to the 6.12pm shot, I had to play time zones again. I was due to meet with a colleague, now teaching at Tokyo University, at 6.00pm, prior to the seminar and so I was not sure it would be proper to halt the conversation for a photo. I reached the campus a little ahead of time to check out the bookshops and grabbed a quick cup of coffee before the meeting. It was 6.12pm Brisbane time (5.12pm, Tokyo time). There is one of the large US multinational coffee shops on campus now, the only one available at the time...my other option was a can of coffee from a vending machine. A close call. 

The seminar by the way was very interesting. Nice that my assessment was aligning with the general view of the speaker and the audience. Of course, so much more has happened with the parties since even then...as I was to find out over the next couple of weeks. 

Seminar over at 8.30pm and that meant heading back home on the night time trains. It takes about 90 mins to get to most places door-to-door; that's not inefficiency on the part of the Tokyo transportation system, just the walk to the house from the nearest station--that's about 25 mins.