Scenes from this old Tokyo neighbourhood have made numerous appearances on these pages, but every day is different, with new moments and faces, so here then are some more from a photowalk I conducted there last week.
Photography
Scenes from the outskirts of a slowly declining Japanese city
There’s no shortage of photos on these pages of rundown old towns and resort spots. Such decline, however, isn’t only found in the country’s more rural areas, as Japan’s changing demographics mean more and more municipalities are slowly beginning to fade away.
Imabari in Ehime prefecture is one such story. It gained city status in 1920 and over the years gradually grew in size, but the population has steadily fallen since 1980, with the number of residents now down about 25 percent from that nearly half-century ago peak. A trend that will likely see the number of residents fall back to the city’s formation levels in the not too distant future.
All that said, such changes aren’t overly visible around the station area, but take a short walk and it’s all too evident what was, and now what is. An area where the people were lovely, but the number of empty properties quite prophetic — a situation perfectly summed up by the friendly button and sewing shop owner who kindly stood outside her family store for a portrait. It has been in operation for 75 years, and despite taking the business on as a second generation proprietor, the lady is resigned to being the last. And when the day eventually comes to shut up shop for the final time, the building will be unceremoniously locked up and left empty like the ones that already surround it.
A half-century old Japanese restaurant and its elderly owners
Old school Japanese lunch spots rarely disappoint, and this lovely little eatery most definitely did not. It has been in business since 1968, with the same couple running it the whole time — a husband and wife team who are now 83 and 79 years old respectively. The man, as is common in such places, does the bulk of the cooking, while the woman serves and helps out with some dishes.
Situated in an area of southern Japan that has started to experience more overseas visitors, we talked to the lady about the changes that has brought, along with some of the challenges. A Japanese only menu not surprisingly makes things tricky at times, although increasingly accurate smartphone translations, along with food replicas on display outside, mean making and taking orders has been relatively stress free.
Those language barriers somewhat surprisingly made us the first foreign customers she’s actually had a conversation with, and being the only ones left as closing time approached, we had time to chat about all manner of things, including her having never visited Tokyo, and the ongoing unknown of how long they will stay open for.
A truly wonderful encounter that will live long in the memory, and all being well, the restaurant will continue to live on for as long as they want it to.
A grittier and comparatively more rundown side of Tokyo
The vast majority of my photographs show a slightly different side of Tokyo — one that’s older and decidedly more dilapidated than the shiny, modern areas that tend to be more regularly depicted.
Of late, however, I’ve had a good number of comments and messages about images that included graffiti — the common theme being that such sightings were very unusual in Japan. To be honest, there isn’t as much to be seen as in some cities, but that said, Tokyo does have its fair share of urban art. Both creative and otherwise. In the city’s more suburban areas too. So here then are photos from a walk that eventually ended in central Shinjuku, where the last shot was taken. A stroll that took in quite a few scenes that in some ways show a comparatively grittier, and more rundown side of the capital.
Everyday scenes on an everyday Tokyo walk
With Tokyo changing so rapidly, everyday scenes and moments feel increasingly important. Brief snippets of life (and lives once lived) that together seem to be the best way of capturing the often nebulous nature of the now. A now that possesses so much of the past, but due to those aforementioned changes, possibly very little of the future.
That perhaps isn’t the clearest of introductions, and likely I haven’t really got my idea across, but understandable or otherwise, here are the photos. Images that were all taken on a recent walk, and together make for a small series that may, or indeed may not, be greater than the sum of its parts.
Tokyo colours, lines and inscrutable looks
It was the man and just a few of the colours that initially prompted me to take these two photos. A split second couple of moments that didn’t really give me time to fully appreciate how the lines, shapes, and in particular those colours, complimented one another. All of which turned out to be lovely little extras, although the fella’s wonderfully inscrutable expressions are still very much the main ingredient.
