Tokyo Times

When looking for a photo last week, I had the pleasure of seeing the ones below again. Images that immediately brought back memories of a truly lovely little restaurant photographed back in 2017 when travelling round northern Japan.

Despite dealing with customers on a daily basis over the five decades or so the place had been in business, the owner was endearingly shy. Comically gruff at times too. So cigarettes and the television were his regular refuge when not called upon to cook. A quietness that was also reflected in the regulars who dropped by, with little in the way of conversation apart from a brief hello and a similarly quick order.

After recalling all that, I searched the area it was located in, not overly confident it would still be there. A pessimism that was sadly proven right, as where the restaurant once stood is now another dreaded car park, meaning the nearest to revisiting is only through these re-edits.

My first sighting of this lovely little yakitori stall was back in April 2017. I’d passed by the spot several times during daylight hours, and everything had been locked up — the shops located there having long since closed down. From late afternoon onwards though the shutters were lifted and the stall was wheeled out. Then once on the street the grilling could commence. A wonderfully novel idea that I saw again a couple of years later in November 2019.

Sadly they were the only two sightings. Presumably I was either too early on most occasions, or got the day wrong on others. Now, however, it makes no difference what time or even day it is, as the building has been replaced by yet another nondescript car park.

This old Tokyo tofu shop has been a favourite of mine for years. The way everything leans this way and that is incredibly appealing, and the huge sign above is without a doubt very special indeed. Or perhaps more accurately, it was special, as sadly it suffered irreparable damaged during a typhoon several years ago and has never been replaced.

Still, sign or no sign, there remains a lot to like, and as an added extra of sorts, the buildings behind the shop were recently demolished, exposing its similarly ramshackle rear.

Below then are some photos taken over the years. Images that date from 2018 to as recently as just last week.

An increasing number of my posts seem to cover people and places that are no longer with us, but thankfully there are still plenty of exceptions, and this wonderful old coffee shop is one of them. A space that it turns out was originally a photo development studio, before a decades-ago conversion into the business it remains to this day.

The opening image is from February 2016, which was the first time I visited. Since then I’ve stopped by on numerous occasions, but until just recently, it had been a while. When returning the other week then, it was a relief to see the seating area unchanged, and despite being unable to manage on her own these days, the owner is still there, and still as smiley as ever.