Damon Stapleton: The Soft Silence of Tokyo

It is the best example I can give of this feeling of consideration and kindness that permeates through the busy, quiet streets of Tokyo.

That's the other thing, it is by far the quietest city I have ever visited. It is a silence that is magnified by the vast amount of people you see. It is a silence that lets you think. It is a silence that lets you see.  It is a silence that feels like millions of people are showing you kindness at the same time. It is a kindness that makes every street seem exquisitely empty.

You realise a lot about yourself when you are out of your comfort zone. You notice that your pre-conceived ideas are often bullshit or very shallow. You have this cartoon idea of a place. And then, you get there and you break out of auto-pilot and really notice the small details.

Here is a little example of thoughtfulness I remember. I was offered chewing gum with a Post-it. The Post-it was to put the gum in before I threw it away. Not exactly a Godzilla film in scale but it is an act that sums Tokyo up for me. A billion, tiny, beautiful acts.

My colleague Christie Cooper also told me about a shop assistant walking a couple of city blocks to give her something she had left on a table. Strange little details. Huge amounts of consideration and caring.

Tokyo also made me think of craft. In the West, we often think of craft as something well made. Something beautiful and quite often, expensive. We often associate craft with objects. Tokyo showed me there was another type of craft. The craft of how to live. It is not a nice to have. It is craft based on caring about others. A selflessness. It is kindness and consideration in all your actions. The craft of how you make another person feel.  We would call it something sterile like user experience or some other jargon. In Tokyo, it is simply the right way to treat others. Yet, somehow, it is far, far deeper than that. Like I said, a billion, tiny, beautiful acts.

Now, I am sure Tokyo is not perfect. No city is. But, it was for me. It got me out of my comfort zone and showed me new things. It broke my routine. And, perhaps more importantly, let me feel new things. I will always remember the feeling of being in the middle of a city that creates an impossible silence. I will also never forget a child being found on a busy street because a city stopped and cared.

What a crazy idea. People thinking about others more than themselves.  

Tokyo showed me the ultimate form of craft is kindness.