Ladies in Kimono

Travelling around Tokyo on the Yamanote Line today (a bit like the Circle line, but above ground all the way), I noticed three older ladies dressed in the most beautiful kimono, complete with the kimono coat (the temperature is low today) and those flip flop type shoes that are oh so difficult to walk in.  These ladies were obviously on their way to some rather formal occasion - perhaps to the Shrine to remember a loved one and pay their respects to the spirits; or it may simply have been a birthday lunch for a friend or a concert.  The juxtaposition of such traditional dress and the modern mayhem of Shinagawa Station struck me as a real conflict of ideas.  The kimono shoes are built to support the weight of the obi and therefore throw the wearer forwards on their toes.  The flip flop design means you can't move very quickly and the kimono itself means that you can't take huge strides;  you have to tip toe and shuffle along in a very feminine and humble way.  Shinagawa by contrast was bustling, with people dashing from one platform to another, from one train to a bus or taxi and all at a rate of knots.  Japan, I thought, is an island of contrasts.