Tokyo Times

Oct 26 2021 20 Comments

Tokyo memories and loss

This week my wife would have celebrated her 44th birthday. The fact that Akiko isn’t here to do so is still hard to fully grasp, although that isn’t anywhere near as hard as day-to-day life without her. Feelings that aren’t going to change any time soon either, as it’s only a little over 3 months since she died. A period that has felt unreal, and at the same time all too real, as it’s simply impossible not to think about all the meals and conversations we should have enjoyed — not to mention all the similar times we will now never have. Constant, utterly uncontrollable thoughts of what was, and also what might have been. Thoughts that are currently more acute than ever, and yet thoughts that in a slightly more positive way brought me back to the photo below.

It’s an image that somehow seems to encapsulate the past and the present in one simple frame, creating a moment of hope and loss, memory and reality. It was also Akiko’s favourite photo of mine. One she helped create as well, as seeing my original edit, she immediately shook her head and said, “Nah, it has be in black and white”. She was absolutely right of course, as those previously mentioned elements only really work in monochrome — a collaborative approach that now makes the image even more special. Sadly we will never grow old together like the couple briefly captured, but we were lucky enough to be as content as they look, so as time goes on, those memories will hopefully make the present reality that little bit more manageable.

Oct 22 2021 6 Comments

A corrugated old Tokyo house and its colour coordinated owner

Recently there’s been no shortage of photos on these pages documenting houses that have been demolished. There was a whole host of them in this series, and a single, very poignant loss in this post. Such scenes aren’t exaggerations either, as a lot of old Tokyo is very rapidly disappearing, but for now at least, there’s thankfully still a lot to see. Like the house below for example. The shape and corrugated exterior make it as wonderfully ordinary as so many others, and yet on this particular day, the light and the owner’s colour coordinated outfit made it that little bit more special.

Oct 19 2021 16 Comments

The distinct personalities of old and disused Japanese vending machines

Quite why I find them so appealing isn’t easy to explain, but there really is something special about old and disused vending machines. Each one seems to have its own distinct personality, or at the very least a sort of quiet dignity. All of which is utter nonsense of course, as in reality they are simply decaying metal boxes, and yet somehow, in some way, they are also a lot more than that.

Now, whether there’s any truth in any of that is very subjective to say the least, but for me, the beauties below contain elements of everything I’ve tried, and likely failed, to articulate. Slightly older edits of a couple of the photos have appeared on Tokyo Times before. A few of the machines have too, although these are newer, or previously unpublished shots. The others are recent finds. Discoveries that, in their own inexplicable way, made the day they were stumbled upon way more memorable than it would have been otherwise.

Oct 15 2021 8 Comments

Transporting the elderly by bicycle in Tokyo

The use of child seat equipped bicycles is a regular, everyday sight in Tokyo. A similar, albeit more improvised approach for transporting the elderly, on the other hand, isn’t anywhere near as common. And yet seeing these two chat away as they wound their way through the streets made me think that maybe it should be.

Oct 12 2021 17 Comments

A half-century old Tokyo sweet shop, its elderly owner, and an ending

The owner of the shop below started the business when she was 40 years old. Back then, penny sweet shops would have been fairly common, but as out of place as it seems today, a lot of little kids still enjoy going in. This big kid liked dropping by too. Whether I went in alone, or with clients on photowalks, the warm welcome and ready smile were always the same. The only thing that really changed was the old lady’s age. It tended to vary. Sometimes she was 91 or 92, and on other days it was 93 or 94. Also, she once told me she was going to call it a day at the end of the year, but of course come the following January, she was happily open again as usual.

Unfortunately, my fairly regular visits stopped due to the pandemic, but looking online one day, I read that she’d passed away. Hardly a surprise of course, but the shop still seemed to be open, so I wasn’t sure if the stories were true or not. Then, when walking by last week, I spoke to a local who confirmed that she had indeed died. Last year if he remembered correctly. Perhaps more surprising was confirmation that the shop is still going, as the daughter has now taken it over. That said, on this occasion at least, the quiet scene and closed shutters seemed appropriate, and yet at the same time it was a long life, and one that was spent doing what she clearly enjoyed doing. Longevity is a bit of a lottery of course, but managing the latter is definitely something to celebrate.

Oct 08 2021 12 Comments

Drinks in a dark and dingy Japanese alleyway

After months of continually extended states of emergency that mostly affected the nation’s bar and restaurant industry, restrictions have finally been relaxed, and life is once again a little bit more like it used to be. This may change of course as we head towards autumn, but for now at least, the option of enjoying an evening out is on again, and as my last outside drinks were on Christmas Day in the alleyway below (photos and audio here), it seemed entirely fitting that the first foray of 2021 should be at the same, wonderfully unique location.

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