Photographs from a small group of islands
Despite being a keen cyclist, charged with delivering this substantial feast, I’m pretty sure that within seconds of setting off, each and every dish would have been strewn all over the street. This fella, on the other hand, was bombing along not the least bit concerned by the weight, road signals and incredibly impressed bystanders.
This little peanut and snack shop opened a few years after the war, and yet even now, after all those decades, its 90-year-old owner still isn’t ready to retire.
Maybe it was the beer, or possibly the bowl of ramen that went with them, but that last, sad looking solitary gyoza, was clearly one mouthful too many.
Tokyo is an extraordinary city in so many ways — a city that, even after two decades of living here, still never ceases to amaze. And yet for all its wonders, and occasional otherworldliness, it’s often the utterly ordinary that really stands out, such as these simple, but at the same time simply wonderful old businesses.
On a hot summer’s day, it’s hard to beat the very simple pleasure of a chilled cucumber dipped in some salty miso. Or for those with a preference for something sweeter, a generous dollop of mayonnaise instead of the miso. Both of which, at least on this particular occasion, came with the added extra of a cold hard stare.
On the topic of summer, a rest and some travelling is very much in order, so from today, the usual 3 posts a week will be reduced to a far more manageable 1 every Monday. Then, from September 2nd, the regular Monday, Wednesday and Friday updates will resume as normal.
Some scenes conjure up way more questions than they do answers.
