Tokyo Times

The train system in Tokyo is, without a doubt, truly incredible. Similarly undeniable, however, is how incredibly busy said system can be. So while it’s possible to travel pretty much anywhere, the journey might well be a little unpleasant to say the least. But head to the Japanese countryside, and it’s a completely different story. Yes, the trains are often laughably infrequent, but once on board they can be fabulously relaxing.

*Over the last few days while traveling and riding trains like the one above, a site update was causing comments to be rejected. Sorry about that — I had no idea at all. It’s all fixed now though, so comments should work as normal once again.

The standard image of Tokyo as a busy, sprawling concrete mass is an accurate one. It really does feel like the city goes on forever, and the sometimes monstrous number of people can be overwhelming to say the least. But head west, a long way west, and the suburbs eventually make way for something very different — a part of the capital that is not only quiet, but also boasts mountains, abandoned cable cars, a disused railway line and even a bar owner in her 90s who still opens for business on a daily basis. An area where, as the latter suggests, the country’s ageing population is more pronounced. So in many ways, the sight of an elderly woodcutter is more expected than that common symbol of Tokyo, the salaryman.

There are certainly nicer places to enjoy a well-earned break, but in an often ludicrously busy city, this alleyway does offer something of a respite — at least from most people.

Inside Tokyo’s fantastically ramshackle Tsukiji fish market, each stall has an office to deal with the business side of the very busy fish business; the vast majority of which are small, basic affairs like this one I photographed last year. But when it comes to the tiniest, this box definitely takes some beating.