Photographs from a small group of islands
Not many restaurants are as photogenic as the one below, so it was hardly a chore to stand outside for a short time and record the comings and goings of its last minute lunchtime customers. Then later, when looking back at the time stamps, there was 7 minutes between the first and last photos — a tally of 7 shots in total. And as a nice, extra bit of synchronism, it turns out that the eatery in question has been in operation for 70 years.
Urban art imitating urban life, or possibly quite the opposite?
This shop was very much a part of the old covered shopping street. The buckets of pickles spilled out onto the pedestrian area, and the owner, who always seemed to be open for business, was always working away at something or other. There was the smell too, which was as distinctive as the colours, and noticeable from a considerable distance away.
Sadly I have no idea how long it was there for. To interrupt the old fella and bother him with my questions somehow felt wrong. Plus being several train journeys from home, buying some of his produce as an excuse to speak was never really an option. There again, it felt like the shop would always be there. Something to marvel at each and every time, and something that also offered a weird sense of comfort with its continued presence.
But of course that couldn’t always be the case. How could it? The number of bars, businesses and homes I’ve seen disappear or become derelict of late amply prove that. As did the scene below, when I was walking along, expecting to stroll past the old pickle shop once again.
Over the last few years, there has been a shift in Tokyo towards laundrettes that are nice places to while away a bit of time rather than somewhere to simply do some washing. Many now incorporate cafes, come with free wifi, and even have comfy sofas as well as more conventional seating areas.
The one below, however, remains resolutely old school, with no concessions to the current times, let alone current trends.
Tokyo is a city that’s constantly reinventing itself, which is something I’ve been trying to document of late in relation to the capital’s disappearing old bars and businesses. But those kinds of changes are nothing when you start going back further in time. Like way back to the1600s for example, when the area below was home to a 100-man gun squad — which given its current guise, feels more akin to fantasy than historical fact.
