Photographs from a small group of islands
A while ago I photographed this fella who appeared to be comfortably — or perhaps otherwise — in possession of Tokyo’s shortest shorts.
It turns out, however, that he isn’t, as the man below boasts what can only be described as the shortest of very short, short shorts. A bold look that’s boosted even further by his cheeky little butterfly tattoo.
As drinking spots go, it’s arguably about as welcoming as the looks.
Despite the less than salubrious settings, this is actually a popular area for those whose drinking sessions go well beyond the standard evening. No last train dash for these boozers. No first one back in the morning either. Instead, it’s much more like a mid-afternoon mosey home. Excesses that understandably can leave some participants a little worse for wear to say the least. Examples of which can be seen here, here and here.
On a site related note, I’ve made a few changes over the weekend, implementing some redirects, and rather more importantly, HTTPS security. So if you have Tokyo Times bookmarked, you can change the link to https://www.tokyotimes.org, although the old address will still work just fine.
Double the explosion, double the devotion?
My favourite bit of street art in Tokyo is this, although not for the actual work itself, but for the photograph I managed to take of it almost a year ago. The juxtaposition of the peculiar face and the passing old lady worked particularly well for me. Plus, to make it even more special, there’ll never be any future opportunities as it has since been painted over.
The artwork below, on the other hand, I genuinely like due to its incredibly striking nature. However, situated in a quiet side street, I always struggled to photograph someone alongside it. Well, at least someone interesting anyway, or failing that, any kind of interaction with the scowling face, or indeed the camera.
Until now that is, as happily my rather limited patience has finally paid off, meaning I don’t have to take that particular detour each and every time I’m in the area, although more than likely I probably still will.
Despite being 90 and still running her half-century old suburban sweet shop, this lovely lady somehow seemed as happy as the day she first opened it all those years ago.
