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Sep 24 2021 6 Comments

A faded and covered old Tokyo shopping street

The first photograph was taken over 12 months ago. It was quiet then, and it clearly has been for many years — the one-time shopping element of the street having long since gone. Nowadays, it’s almost entirely dated little karaoke bars, and the faint warbling of the generally older men who frequent such establishments can usually be heard. Tokyo’s virus-related and seemingly endless state of emergencies, however, have sadly changed even that, as none of the places were open when I took the second photo just recently. That said, with the number of vaccinated rapidly increasing, and infections seemingly under control, the suitably melancholy sound of enka will hopefully return once again.

old and covered tokyo drinking arcade

old and covered tokyo drinking arcade

Categorized: Food and Drink, Photography

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Richard says

    9/24/2021 at 8:46 am

    When we were in Japan in Nov 2019, arcades like that had many empty stores in them. It was sad at that time. Even more so nowadays!

    Reply
    • Lee says

      9/24/2021 at 8:49 pm

      Yeah, a lot of these old style streets are slowly dying. Understandable in some ways, but it’s always a huge shame to see one go. Hopefully once the pandemic is over, this one will manage to carry on for a good few years yet.

      Reply
  2. ellen says

    9/24/2021 at 11:45 am

    I love how the photographs are *quiet* too! 🙂

    Reply
    • Lee says

      9/24/2021 at 8:51 pm

      Cheers. Yes, I suppose they are. Almost too quiet, as I had to wait ages for someone to come round that corner!

      Reply
  3. cdilla says

    9/24/2021 at 5:34 pm

    This has been on my list of places to visit “next time” since you first showed us it, and I thought for a moment it had closed. But happily not. Your recent photograph makes it look appealingly cool and shaded inside.
    One constant over the past dozen years is the spikey leafed plant beside the exit. It was there in 2009, though half the height. Another constant is the lack of people around, although that could be the time of day the SV pics are taken.
    Anyway, good to see it still open.

    Reply
    • Lee says

      9/24/2021 at 8:57 pm

      Yeah, in the current heat, that roof and relative darkness is very welcome indeed. There’s a Chinese restaurant near the other entrance, and that is busy. Well, busy compared to everything else. But otherwise there are never many people about. Not really used as a shortcut either. Pretty sure it’ll be around for a while yet though, so you will get to see it. There are some other spots nearby you’d appreciate too.

      Reply

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