"Antique" Phone in Tokyo's National Museum
Shot this picture in the upstairs rest area of the Tokyo National Museum, the one facing the back of the property (you know!)…
I found it funny that a more-or-less “ancient” piece of technology would find itself in use in (ironically enough) a museum of antiquities. It was still plugged in, so I assumed it was still in use, at least internal to the building….
But then again, Japan is kind of like that all around. If you pay close attention you’ll notice all sorts of “contradictions” that you wouldn’t expect. Dudes pulling jinrikisha (人力車, “rickshaw”) around modern Tokyo. 1,000 year old stone walls next to neon billboards for god-only-knows. Kids tapping out texts on their phones while standing in front of 1,200 yr old temples….
Yeah, I guess its the same here, but we don’t have the history to draw on. “Old” for us in “The States” is like this phone, 1950s vintage. “Old” in Japan (or probably most other places in the world) is measured in centuries, not decades.
Just a bit of perspective, I think.
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