Photographs from a small group of islands
Tokyo is a city of contrasts, as well as constant surprises, so even if you know what’s round the next corner, you never really know what you are going to see. It could, for example, be a Buddhist playing a bamboo flute. Or possibly even more unexpected, a foreign person taking photographs.
The passage of time?
Down an old and now more or less disused tunnel, one little bar remains. Catering for the small number of late afternoon drinkers who can squeeze inside, it’s the last business left, but even after several decades of serving drinks and really quite delicious food, the owners have no intention of quitting just yet. A decision that’s much appreciated by both the very regular regulars, and those that merely pop in unexpectedly.
One of the key benefits of living in Tokyo is that you never really know what — or perhaps more accurately who — is going to greet you round the next corner. It could be a man carrying a huge tortoise. Maybe even a young bloke in the shortest of very short shorts. Or in this case, merely a bare-chested wrestler taking a post-bout rest.
The light was fading and the building is slowly falling apart, but almost a quarter of a century after closing its doors, this hotel has a silence and atmosphere all its own.
