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Oct 04 2013 10 Comments

A little Tokyo bar and lost time

Drinking in his favoured bar in Tokyo’s poorest neighbourhood, this old man may not have seen better days — or at least not any for a long time. But, like all of us, he has seen younger ones.

Japanese old man in a tiny bar

Categorized: Food and Drink, Photography

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Taki says

    10/4/2013 at 12:09 pm

    Well, the picture of him as a younger man on the wall is amazing

    Reply
    • Lee says

      10/4/2013 at 7:32 pm

      Yes, quite something, isn’t it? It’s a photo that from what I saw still gives the owner and other patrons a lot of pleasure.

      Reply
  2. Hans ter Horst says

    10/4/2013 at 4:10 pm

    Very intriguing shot; he looks to be a patron, yet his photo is up on the wall. So many question your post asks, great work!

    Reply
    • Lee says

      10/4/2013 at 7:37 pm

      Thank you!

      Yeah, he’s clearly such a regular that he really is part of the furniture — or at least decorations. It’s a bar that conjures up many, many questions, but at the same time asking probably wouldn’t be the right thing to do. The fellas go there to drink. A lot too. So asking about their past presumably wouldn’t be all that appreciated…

      Reply
  3. Ken C says

    10/4/2013 at 4:28 pm

    Maybe he was some kind of martial artist? Would be nice to think that he had been a professional and bought the bar out of his winnings.

    Reply
    • Lee says

      10/4/2013 at 7:38 pm

      Nah, unfortunately not. Certainly nice to think something like that though.

      Reply
  4. Jamie_O says

    10/6/2013 at 9:48 pm

    I’m assuming that is the same guy in the photo, but wow, hope it was a long time ago because he has really aged!!

    Reply
    • Lee says

      10/7/2013 at 3:15 pm

      Yeah, it’s the same fella. Don’t have a clue how long ago it wasn’t taken, but my guess is not as long ago as you think.

      Reply
  5. Willy says

    10/6/2013 at 10:10 pm

    Everyone gets it in the end. A poignant reminder from the old codger in the pic, Lee and his camera.

    Reply
    • Lee says

      10/7/2013 at 3:16 pm

      Cheers.

      Yes, there’s no point in trying to pretend otherwise…

      Reply

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