What on earth this little old lady was carrying in her bag will forever remain a mystery, but considering its obvious weight and substantial size, my guess is it was another little old lady.
A little old lady with a ludicrously large bag
Photographs from a small group of islands
[Gm] says
Be a gentleman that you are and give her a hand, Lee 😀
Lee says
Haha, that’s very true! To be honest though, I think I’d have struggled to carry it myself…
Larry says
My wife’s grandmother used to refuse to let me carry anything when I went shopping with her while my wife was home with a new baby. She also refused to accept an empty seat on the bus unless I sat first. Japanese old ladies are tough!
Lee says
Yes, I couldn’t agree more. It still amazes me when I see them working in the fields. I can only guess how old they are, but despite their considerable years, they are still out there working every day.
Hans ter Horst says
Imagine her getting onto a train in rush hour!
Lee says
Oh god no, that’d be a bad idea for her and everyone else involved. Thankfully it was mid-morning when I took the picture, with the trains mercifully quiet.
Lizzy says
Woah…
Lee says
That’s exactly what I thought!
winnie says
She is so strong!
Luckily, she is not boarding the train at peak hours.
Lee says
She is. It was clear how heavy the bag was, but she somehow just put up with it.
ä½è—¤ä¸€éƒŽ says
When I was a college student and I lived just north of Ikebukuro almost 20 years ago, I’d see these strong old women every morning. Those packs are filled with vegetables from the countryside. She’s going to market to sell them.
Lee says
Ah, thanks for the info, that’s really interesting. I initially thought she’d get off at Sugamo, as there are often street stalls there, but it thew me when she didn’t. Nice to finally know what she was carrying.
Julien says
I just showed that to my wife, who told me the same story but with fishes made dry instead of vegetables. And that, when she used the Sobu-sen, made a strong smell in the train 🙂
So fish or vegetables? I guess that depends where she comes from, but the story is the same anyway; thanks for the picture, I learned something new today !
Lee says
Not at all, I learned something too. There was thankfully no smell at all, so my guess is vegetables.