Tokyo

Parts I, II, and IV of the novel take place in Tokyo. Gilbert arrives in this city after having the dream about Mathilda's infidelity and fleeing Germany, and very shortly thereafter meets Yosa in a train station. Gilbert makes his plan to set out on the pilgrimage, with Yosa as his companion, but promises to accompany Yosa to several locations of his choosing, including Aokigahara. After spending the night in this forest, they double back and return to Tokyo before going on to Sendai. Gilbert is taken aback by Tokyo's extreme cleanliness, which strikes him as rather sterile compared to the Western cities he is used to. This assessment extends to the people he encounters in the city as well: "The passers-by gave off an air of perfection, absolute self-restraint, an antiseptic quality. There were none of those grubby corners where underdone feelings could accumulate, places filled with...