Shiba Koen Swimming Pool

During that narrow 6-week window of time that is the official Tokyo summer, city officials open the impressive outdoor 50-meter Shiba Koen pool.

Keren swam on a drizzly night earlier this week and shared the pool with one other swimmer.

I went to the pool yesterday, a gorgeous summer weekday afternoon, and the scene was something like the accompanying picture. The pool deck was jammed with men sunbathing (so much for that salaryman work ethic Japan was so famous for).

Jostling with crowds is more representative of the conditions I will face in triathlon swims, so I am content to battle the crowds.