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Mar 16 2020 8 Comments

A tiny Tokyo shop with built in social distancing?

This tiny shop has appeared on these pages before, but up until taking the photo below, I knew absolutely nothing about it. A business, it turns out, that’s been there for half a century or so, and incredibly, the current proprietor has sat working in that very same spot for the last four decades.

It’s also a shop that, despite its age and diminutive dimensions, is arguably ideal in the current climate. The owner has no colleagues, customers are kept very much at arm’s length, and money is passed back and forth on the black plastic tray in front of him. Hence, perhaps, his big smile and relaxed demeanour.

a tiny Tokyo shop and its smiling owner

Similarly connected to the current situation, freelance work has understandably dipped enormously of late, so I’ve taken the rather uncomfortable step of creating one of those buy-me-a-coffee pages. Not at all sure if it’s a good idea, but if you think this site is worth the occasional ‘drink’, or even a recurring monthly one, then the option to safely and securely pay for a hot beverage, or better still a beer, is here: https://ko-fi.com/tokyotimes

Categorized: Photography

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Stephan says

    3/16/2020 at 11:12 am

    Great shot! So I guess there’s no lockdown in Tokyo?

    Reply
    • Lee says

      3/16/2020 at 8:47 pm

      Thank you! No, not yet anyway. Although that said, schools closed at the beginning of the month, and museums, sporting events etc have been shut or played behind closed doors from about the same time. Hopefully those measures have helped keep things under control, but only time will tell…

      Reply
  2. Jenn says

    3/16/2020 at 1:51 pm

    Oh my how utterly adorable! 🙂 I sure hope he stays safe.

    Reply
    • Lee says

      3/16/2020 at 8:48 pm

      It’s quite a little shop eh? But yeah, hopefully he’ll be ok.

      Reply
  3. cdilla says

    3/16/2020 at 6:13 pm

    What a marvelous shop and vendor. So good to see such places still going. I spent many a long hour after school in the nearest equivalent the UK has ever had, Tandy (Radio Shack for your US viewers). I’d pour over the racks of components wondering if my pocket money would secure me the part I needed to fix a friends radio, and whether they would pay me enough to make it worth while. Now I order them fon AliExpress or BangGood for pennies, and as a result my man cave has seriously started to resemble this guys shop.

    Reply
    • Lee says

      3/16/2020 at 8:52 pm

      Yeah, it really is, and long may it continue to survive.

      There was a similar shop where I grew up, although obviously on a much bigger scale than this. If you needed anything fixing, or some obscure little part, he was most definitely the man to go to. I think it might still be going, but if not there could be an opening for you!

      Reply
  4. john says

    3/16/2020 at 10:12 pm

    I imagine a tray extender, operated by solar power, or for his health, pedal power and a few pulleys.

    Reply
    • Lee says

      3/17/2020 at 8:56 am

      Haha, I like that idea, especially a pedal powered pulley. It’s a wonderful little shop as it is, but that would take it to a whole new level!

      Reply

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