Lee

Or contentment perhaps due to the impending harvest and the sense of a job very competently done.

And smoker.

When growing up, one of the most popular children’s TV shows was Rainbow; a programme based around a house inhabited by a man, a bear, a pink hippo and an odd-looking puppet with a zip for a mouth. However, despite such a memorable premise, what always stuck in my mind was the theme tune. A song that, despite its brevity, effortlessly captured the wonder and optimism of childhood. And even though I hadn’t heard the music for more years than I’d care to remember, it’s what unexpectedly popped into my head when I took the photograph below. The lyrics suddenly much more poignant than positive:

Up above the streets and houses, rainbow climbing high,
Everyone can see it smiling, over the sky.
Paint the whole world with a rainbow.

Tokyo, of course, has no shortage of modern, fancy shops and supermarkets. Plus these days there are convenience stores on what seems like every other corner. But in older parts of the city, traditional little shopping streets still manage to survive. Places run by locals, for locals and largely catering for their simple daily needs.