Food and Drink

My first sighting of this lovely little yakitori stall was back in April 2017. I’d passed by the spot several times during daylight hours, and everything had been locked up — the shops located there having long since closed down. From late afternoon onwards though the shutters were lifted and the stall was wheeled out. Then once on the street the grilling could commence. A wonderfully novel idea that I saw again a couple of years later in November 2019.

Sadly they were the only two sightings. Presumably I was either too early on most occasions, or got the day wrong on others. Now, however, it makes no difference what time or even day it is, as the building has been replaced by yet another nondescript car park.

This old Tokyo tofu shop has been a favourite of mine for years. The way everything leans this way and that is incredibly appealing, and the huge sign above is without a doubt very special indeed. Or perhaps more accurately, it was special, as sadly it suffered irreparable damaged during a typhoon several years ago and has never been replaced.

Still, sign or no sign, there remains a lot to like, and as an added extra of sorts, the buildings behind the shop were recently demolished, exposing its similarly ramshackle rear.

Below then are some photos taken over the years. Images that date from 2018 to as recently as just last week.

An increasing number of my posts seem to cover people and places that are no longer with us, but thankfully there are still plenty of exceptions, and this wonderful old coffee shop is one of them. A space that it turns out was originally a photo development studio, before a decades-ago conversion into the business it remains to this day.

The opening image is from February 2016, which was the first time I visited. Since then I’ve stopped by on numerous occasions, but until just recently, it had been a while. When returning the other week then, it was a relief to see the seating area unchanged, and despite being unable to manage on her own these days, the owner is still there, and still as smiley as ever.

Old school Japanese lunch spots rarely disappoint, and this lovely little eatery most definitely did not. It has been in business since 1968, with the same couple running it the whole time — a husband and wife team who are now 83 and 79 years old respectively. The man, as is common in such places, does the bulk of the cooking, while the woman serves and helps out with some dishes.

Situated in an area of southern Japan that has started to experience more overseas visitors, we talked to the lady about the changes that has brought, along with some of the challenges. A Japanese only menu not surprisingly makes things tricky at times, although increasingly accurate smartphone translations, along with food replicas on display outside, mean making and taking orders has been relatively stress free.

Those language barriers somewhat surprisingly made us the first foreign customers she’s actually had a conversation with, and being the only ones left as closing time approached, we had time to chat about all manner of things, including her having never visited Tokyo, and the ongoing unknown of how long they will stay open for.

A truly wonderful encounter that will live long in the memory, and all being well, the restaurant will continue to live on for as long as they want it to.

With Tokyo changing so rapidly, everyday scenes and moments feel increasingly important. Brief snippets of life (and lives once lived) that together seem to be the best way of capturing the often nebulous nature of the now. A now that possesses so much of the past, but due to those aforementioned changes, possibly very little of the future.

That perhaps isn’t the clearest of introductions, and likely I haven’t really got my idea across, but understandable or otherwise, here are the photos. Images that were all taken on a recent walk, and together make for a small series that may, or indeed may not, be greater than the sum of its parts.

Just like every city, Tokyo has its problems and regular irritations, but one of the capital’s many positive attributes is the sheer variety of sights and scenes it’s possible to see on a daily basis. These then are some moments and unique locations spotted on an unexpectedly less than warm meander during the middle of last week.