Well, I can’t imagine there are any “awesome” times for being homeless – unless steaks rained from the sky and it was always summer – BUT turns out that right now is particularly terrible.  Here’s what I woke up to around Shinjuku station…

When a day of homelessness starts out like this...

Almost 7am, almost freezing, the sun a barely an annoyance to the tops of the thick clouds.  The day opened up and it got colder, and a little colder, and then rainy, then more rainy, then that thing that happens when it rains in sub-zero temperatures.  Snow started to fall in Tokyo.  This wasn’t the pathetic sprinkling of snowflakes, like when you permit a polite amount of ground pepper on a dainty salad.  This was a proper urban flurry, like when you pour salt and pepper on a terrible-tasting lasagna.

Snow falling down Cocoon Tower

It wasn’t quite cold enough for the snow to stick, but that only meant it melted.  And because it drifted, hiding under overhangs was only so effective.  I don’t think an umbrella would have helped me too much, if I had one.  Unfortunately, I didn’t, so I scurried to the train station with all my bags, with snow felling and melting, and me wishing I had a warm room to go lie down in.  Instead, I was destined for a nap on the Yamanote line subway.

All snow and no umbrella makes Matt...