Food and Drink

A scene from the past with several clear hints at the present.

Friendly little bars are wonderful escapes wherever one happens to be. Each and every one offering a welcome chance to drink, unwind and briefly forget about all that’s going on in the wider world. And when they are as genuinely appealing as this place from the outside.

As well as incredibly calming the moment the door opens on the inside.

Then the only thing left to worry about is how difficult it’s going to be to leave.

The cramped seating area isn’t exactly the comfiest, and the toilet facilities are positively archaic, but this old Tokyo ramen restaurant is pretty much perfect. Great food, decades of clutter and a genuine sense of warmth the moment one walks in.

Some Japanese drunks prefer to ease into unconsciousness when sat with friends, or somewhat less safely in a city side street wearing little more than a slip. Others, however, rather more boldly opt for busy train stations, during late night peak time, when predictably there are police about.

After many years spent making it, this couple’s love of eating ramen is very likely long gone. The love that they continue to pour into each bowl, on the other hand, quite clearly hasn’t diminished at all.

When it comes to helping overseas visitors, Tokyo has definitely made an effort over the years. Signs and announcements in foreign languages are now way more common than they once were, and similarly helpful menus can be found in an increasing number of restaurants. And yet at the same time, how much the capital really wants to be the international city it supposedly strives to be is difficult to say, as below a very fragile surface, Tokyo is arguably just as traditional as before.

For better or worse, however, some things are difficult to maintain, and when outsiders start perfectly replicating the behavior once dominated by inebriated Japanese salarymen, there’s probably no turning back.