Photos from this old, dark and mostly shuttered Japanese shopping arcade have appeared on Tokyo Times before, but these recently taken evening shots give it an even more desolate look than the daytime ones did.
Situated next to a couple more covered, but better illuminated streets, it is very much the poor cousin of the three. Only a few of its shops are still operational, and the man in the red t-shirt was moving stock to and from one of them. Most of the others, however, closed a long time ago, with the old fella in blue merely dropping by his former shop — his kids understandably having no interest whatsoever in continuing the family business.
Near the other, cat themed entrance, there is a bit of re-birth, with one or two premises being repurposed, but otherwise the arcade stands as a poignant reminder of the past, and in Japan’s many underpopulated places, a rather unsettling view of what to expect.
Sean says
The dark vibes in these are very cool. I love it!
Lee says
Thanks a lot. It definitely has quite an atmosphere. Especially so after dark.
taylor says
I always like to imagine how they must have been in their heyday.
Lee says
I know eh? It must have been a bustling little spot, but hard to imagine these days.
john says
Even the shutters get the blues, and I noticed matching attire, baskets, and ‘pushalongs’ (that sounds quite exotic!).
Where in the world would a bicycle be protected by cones and used as an umbrella stand (rhetorically speaking); a silver machine and silver brolley with a canada brolley (they are the ones with black necks of course) dropping in on it’s migration route. That cat themed entrance is certainly a bit more poigless and evidently worth a park and peek or (brolley, bike or both) if you’re cycling past.
Nice double cameo too!
I was reminded of ‘Time Will Break The World’ (Silver Jews) – “The sun and the shutters and the sun shattered hair”, even though that is two things extra!
Lee says
Cheers. There’s such a lot to take in there. So many little details and added extras. And the double cameo was particularly pleasing.