Tokyo Times

Mar 29 2022 12 Comments

In and out of an old Japanese yakitori bar

Towards the end of last year I posted the same exterior photo, offering a glimpse inside this little yakitori place. At that time it was our second visit, and also the second, increasingly frustrating occasion to be denied entry. Such small bars are great in so many ways, but their limited space does mean that securing an empty seat isn’t always the easiest. Timing is very much of the essence, and on both evenings we’d clearly been way off.

Thankfully the third time was indeed the lucky one, and as expected it didn’t disappoint. The mama-san has been quietly holding fort there for over three decades, while the bar itself has been in business for about half a century. A further fifty years is obviously out of the question, but with the owner still positively youthful compared to many of her peers, it’s likely that everything will remain pretty much the same for many more evenings to come.

Mar 25 2022 10 Comments

A certain image of Tokyo and the much harsher reality

Mar 22 2022 16 Comments

Tokyo kimono, decay and corrugated metal

Tokyo is a city of contrasts, which this scene amply demonstrates, and yet despite the obvious differences, there also turned out to be some nice visual coincidences to connect them.

Mar 18 2022 8 Comments

An old school Tokyo record shop

There’s no shortage of record shops in Tokyo, but few are as fantastic looking as this little place.

Mar 15 2022 16 Comments

Faces of Ueno from the past

When the sun was out and the sky clear, Ueno, and even more so its Ameyoko market street, were once almost embarrassingly regular destinations for me and my camera. “Where did you go today?” my wife would ask, but before I could even answer, my decidedly sheepish look would have already given the game away, and with mock, wide-eyed surprise, she’d exclaim, “Ueno, again!”

Despite managing to trick her into guessing wrong every now and then, it invariably was Ueno, again, but with its gifts of lovely light and fascinating people, how could I not give in when the conditions were ideal?

I thought about this the other day when I went back after a fairly long break. It had been a similarly long while before that as well. The sky was blue, and timing wise the light was just right, but with Tokyo still in a quasi-state of emergency, and masks very much the norm, it was a stark reminder of why I’ve become something of a stranger. It’s just not the same. Eyes are the window to the soul and all that, but uncovered faces are infinitely more interesting. Sights that will hopefully return in the not too distant future, but until then, here are some people from Ueno of the past.

Mar 11 2022 9 Comments

Omotesando public housing of the past

About a month ago I posted photos of a huge and truly distinctive Japanese public housing complex. Known as danchi, these once modern concrete structures are now slowly disappearing as age catches up with them and far more desirable buildings take their place.

It’s a shift that isn’t the least bit surprising, as unlike that aforementioned behemoth, the vast majority of 1960s and 70s danchi are fairly modest in size. Invariably they are also incredibly utilitarian in design, just like the very dated apartment blocks below. The key difference with these, however, is that they are just a few minutes walk from Omotesando — one of the fanciest and most expensive areas in the capital.

With that in mind, it’s undoubtedly the last kind of accommodation you’d expect to see in such a neighbourhood, but with half of them gone already, and the rest being prepared for demolition, it’s presumably the last time it will be seen as well.

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