Tokyo Times

Tokyo is changing fast, with so many old buildings and businesses disappearing forever, but this traditional little fruit and vegetable shop is happily still going strong, and remains as beautifully untouched by time as ever.

The first photo is from June 2019. A shot I’d wanted for the longest time, but opening days and the weather had repeatedly made that impossible. However, even after eventually getting that one frame, a single image of such a special place never seemed enough, so on a recent return to the area, I thankfully got a couple more. It was as the light started to fade as well, which meant for something different. A nocturnal sight that did not disappoint in the slightest.

A friend and I first drank in this truly unique little bar about 10 years back, and each subsequent time we’ve dropped by for a few beers it’s been just as much fun as that initial, decade ago discovery. Something that a long overdue return the other day happily reconfirmed.

Its clutter, grime and welcoming nature make each visit both joyous and memorable, with even a rat making a brief appearance on one occasion. Needless to say the uninvited guest surprised us, but for everyone else present, its brief dash through raised barely an eyebrow.

In business for over 40 years, with the son now helping his mother run the place after the death of the master, there are dusty and discoloured mementoes attached to the walls and on pretty much every surface other than the counters. A bar where nothing really changes except the menu, and as the last 2 photos prove, even that doesn’t alter much. Not even the prices. And yet the images were taken 6 years apart.

So here then is a selection of my memories from those evenings spent there. Some are clear, whereas others are decidedly more hazy, but all of them I feel fortunate to have.

Many of my photographs over the last few years have been small series attempting to tell stories, or document older places and the people connected to them. Such opportunities, however, don’t present themselves all the time, and some walks are mainly filled with ordinary, everyday life, meaning they are mostly quiet and relatively uneventful.

The photos here are from one such walk last week. No moments or scenes really stood out, or in some way felt exceptional, and yet as is always the case, the long meander was an enjoyable one. It was also no less meaningful in its own way, and to use a probably overused word, it was also fairly mindful. The perfect way, for me at least, to be fully present and in the moment — simply taking everything in and occasionally photographing whatever presented itself. All done with no expectations or particular aim. An approach that in the end arguably did have a theme, if not exactly a story. One of the strangely appealing ordinariness of daily sights and scenery.

Wonderfully old and dated coffee shops have appeared on these pages before. They are fascinating places that have barely changed at all, with their furnishings and faded nature showing all the telltale signs of time. Elements that this spot most definitely doesn’t lack.

In operation for over a half a century, there’s very little that gives away the current year, with the fittings and worn carpet happily exhibiting their extended use. A truly fabulous establishment that provides the chance to briefly escape the stresses and uncertainties of modern life, offering as it does a comfortingly quiet world where the only real worry is what decade it might be.

This wonderful old Tokyo street corner with its dated Chinese restaurant and appliance store is interesting in itself, but the added elements of local life over a brief, 5 minute period, lifted it way beyond that, providing a nice bit of context to those lovely retro looks.

The restaurant has been in operation for 60 years, and the owner, after watering all his plants, was intent on showing us what was left of his once large knife after all those decades of daily use. It turns out the old rotary phone outside is still in operation too, although sadly it never rang. Another local eatery owner did, however, provide an unexpected cameo, making what was already a great little encounter all the more memorable.