3 days

it all started off so normally with me returning the dvds to the video rental shop, and somewhere in between i saw busloads of riot police, the japanese prime minister and the red red yellow leaves of kyoto.

in the morning i left my flat with 2 discs in my basket and then went home to pack. i got the subway to the train station and bought a ticket. i boarded the train shaped like a bullet and 40 minutes later i was standing in front of a sign. it said that george w bush and junichi kozumi were meeting in kyoto and that certain roads would be closed. it was night by then and i gripped the strap of my bag as my breath made wisps of white vapour.

we checked into the hotel room that smelt of smoke. we left immediately to find a place to eat. we walked toward gion, the part of kyoto that all the cool people go to, and there we saw bright lights and small shops. some people were shopping and cars stopped at every traffic light. we walked, hands in pocket. we crossed a bridge and saw a bus with metal grids covering the windows. on top of the bus was a platform with more metal bars. on it stood a man in blue uniform. he carried a big stick and a helmet with a wide clear visor. the bus was full of people in similar dress. this bus drove past to reveal another one and one more behind it. the people on the platform only looked ahead.

behind the buses was a demonstration. a crowd of people had banners and signs and shouted slogans. the pictures were of bush; usually as a demon or an idiot. some accused him of being a terrorist; others wanted him to stop the war. one said: "kyoto rejects you too" which made me smile. the demonstration was very small and it seemed like the only half of them were japanese. i reckoned the riot police outnumbered the demonstrators.

further along was more excitement. there was another crowd of people on both sides of the street and police in cotton shirts blocking a small side road. they stood with their arms spread and the people didn't move. we stood on tiptoe to see what was going on. someone said prime minister kozumi was eating dinner in one of the soba restaurants and was about to come out. we stood there and watched. the crowd hummed and cooed and a thousand phones where switched to camera mode. we stood and waited on the other side of the road. sometimes a bus would stop in front of us and everyone would groan. we waited.

another bus stopped in front of us as the crowd from the other side began to stir. some people from our side shouted for the bus to move out of the way which it sheepishly did. the spotlight from the news camera blasted the small street with blinding light. we waited. everyone leaned forward. then a thousand flashes went off and the crowd started cheering. a short man with grey hair walked toward the car that was waiting for him. the door was open. he stopped before he got in and waved to the crowd across the street. the people around me started cheering. he smiled and got into his car and drove away. everyone smiled at each other and within two minutes the crowds were no more.

we went back to our smokey hotel room later and saw the prime minister on tv. the next day we would see the leaves.