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Jul 15 2014 8 Comments

An old Tokyo bar and its no-nonsense Mama-san

Her native Okinawa that she left over 40 years ago must have changed enormously, but the bar this strong-willed Mama-san runs in Tokyo most certainly hasn’t. Or at least not since the 1970s.

old and small Tokyo bar Mama-san

A space that in many ways is more like an extended living room than a bar, allowing customers, with the accompaniment of a couple of beers, to feel completely at home.

old and small Tokyo bar Mama-san

Categorized: Food and Drink, Photography

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Hans Ter Horst says

    7/15/2014 at 2:09 pm

    Amazing place, lots of atmosphere! Everybody seems to be more and more relaxed around you photographing them

    Reply
    • Lee says

      7/15/2014 at 4:38 pm

      Yeah, it was an interesting little bar. The Mama-san was quite a character too.

      All down to the booze I think. I’m bolder, and those around me are more relaxed. The perfect situation really.

      Reply
      • Hans ter Horst says

        7/26/2014 at 2:35 am

        Just rereading Dance Dance Dance (Murakami Haruki — I know, not his best but still very enjoyable) in which I came across the following quote: “I went into a small bar I remembered, and had a few drinks and a bite to eat. The place was dirty, noisy, cheap, and good. The kind of hole-in-the-wall I always look for when I have to eat out alone. I can talk to myself and nobody listens or cares.”
        Cool the read that the ‘boku’ personages in Murakami Haruki’s books like the same places 🙂

        Reply
        • Lee says

          7/26/2014 at 9:16 am

          It is. Cheers for the passage. Sums those wonderful little places up perfectly, doesn’t it?

          Reply
  2. Martin B says

    7/15/2014 at 9:37 pm

    Looks like the perfect place to chill out with a few cold beers.

    Reply
    • Lee says

      7/15/2014 at 9:53 pm

      Yeah, it wasn’t bad. Not bad at all.

      Reply
  3. An Expat says

    7/16/2014 at 6:59 am

    Kinda makes one wanna buy a ticket and fly over for a beer and comfort food.

    Reply
    • Lee says

      7/16/2014 at 11:07 am

      That’d be as good a reason as any.

      Reply

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