Food and Drink

Japan’s so-called ‘family restaurants‘ are, as their name suggests, popular with families. Bright and child-friendly places that offer a reasonable variety of food at equally reasonable prices.

But what they don’t offer is character or an interesting experience, which is something that this family got by the bucket load.

There are many good things about Tokyo, and the city’s old-style, independently owned little bars and eateries are up there with the best of them. Places where it’s possible to peer into the past, and yet at the same time, also the future.

Another photograph of this bar, taken on the same day but from a completely different angle, can be seen here.

Tokyo almost always seems to be in a state of flux. Buildings go up and down. Shops regularly change hands. Plus fads are often as fleeting as Japan’s famous cherry blossoms.

And yet the more the city changes, the more it somehow remains the same.

Coming of age in Britain, Japan’s comparatively carefree licensing laws were nothing short of a revelation when I first arrived in Tokyo. All-nighters suddenly became nothing special, and a similarly lengthy daytime session could pretty much start whenever. No infuriating breaks for archaic post-lunch closing either. And yet all that said, and no matter how much fun it can be, nothing quite beats the relaxed beauty of a few well earned beers on a weekend afternoon.