Photographs from a small group of islands
When it comes to entertainment, Tokyo arguably offers more than what’s manageable — sometimes even what’s unimaginable; however, more often than not such activities require cash, and quite often considerable amounts of it too.
But that said, there are alternatives, and whilst a calming and yet competitive game of shogi in the park may well be cold, it costs next to nothing.
Which for some may well be seen as essential.
Quite what titbits of the future this fella may have detected with his torch is unclear, but more than likely it will have involved something along the lines of a long and happy life, an equally marvellous marriage and conceivably even a kid or two.
After no doubt attending a Coming of Age Day (æˆäººã®æ—¥ Seijin no Hi) ceremony of some kind or another, this young woman waits patiently to head off down the tracks and begin to do the things that adults do.
The dawning prospect of which is understandably not something to smile about.
Apart from the homes of their parents, and possibly even pachinko, the place most Japanese people will set out to visit over the New Year is the shrine. An event that, apart from a quick pray, invariably involves coughing up for a new collection of lucky charms.
And, more often than not, an omikuji (random fortune), which, after the fun of finding out if it’s a good or bad one,
can be securely fixed to something suitable and swiftly forgotten.
Thus allowing for arguably the most favoured part of most Japanese festivities, the food, which invariably comes from a fascinatingly varied selection of vendors, serving up equally varied victuals.
All the way from the savoury,
to the sweet.
Plus, for a bit of continuity, below are a couple of the same characters from last year, although one of them seemed decidedly dejected about the new decade.
And cooking with what appears to be his replacement, this still spritely old fella could well be tackling 2010 as a retiree.
Considering the frightening amount of financial failures over the last few years, the purchase of an apparently lucky trinket or two definitely can’t do any harm as we prepare to delve into a new decade.
And, if nothing else, this bloke looks like a good old boy to buy something from.
The patience and perseverance required to produce, and more specifically maintain, a bonsai must be absolutely phenomenal — regardless of whether the tree in question is a genuine work of wonder or a rather more modest midget.
And yet for all their unquestionable beauty, perhaps most fascinating of all is that despite a lifetime’s work, it’s more than likely that the person who initially set out with a mere specimen won’t be around to see their creation bear fruit.
Quite literally.