Ebisu-chō

I pass through the usual ticket gates,

Take that slightly dim elevator up.

Outside, the familiar electric town appears —

The place where I was born and raised.

The view I see now isn’t quite the same

As the one from my childhood days,

But the air I breathe for the first time in a while

Is still the same… a little smoky, a little rough.

It wasn’t always full of good things,

But this town holds so many memories.

Raised by a mother who did it all on her own —

Her strength hurts my heart in a good way now.

I wonder if I’ve become

Someone you and this place, Ebisu-chō,