Food and Drink

Photographs from this lovely old and traditional Japanese shopping street appeared on Tokyo Times a couple of years ago. By then, only two businesses remained, and while the tofu seller appeared to do pretty well, the green tea shop seemed more like a museum piece than somewhere to actually make a purchase.

Still, those two stores and all the old signs made it a sight to behold. Returning recently, however, the inevitable had happened. In fact, not only had it been completely demolished, but a new house was already standing on part of the land it once occupied.

Like I mentioned in my July newsletter, I’m trying to be more zen about these kinds of disappearances, and rather than feeling sad, I simply try to be grateful for the chance I had to see, experience and photograph such places. And being fortunate enough to have seen this little street really is something to feel thankful for.

For me at least there’s so much to like about Osaka. Elements of which I wrote about in my latest newsletter. And without a doubt one of the city’s key photographic attributes is its maze of old and dated shopping streets — half shuttered up and mostly covered arcades that feel like stepping back in time in regards both their looks and the people who inhabit them.

Below then are photos from a recent trip when I had the pleasure of spending several days walking some of my favourite areas. Locations where the streets and residents’ faces are filled with stories, and in so many ways, where the past feels far more real than the present.

The moment I walked through the door it was obvious this little coffee shop was special. The colours, simplicity, and most of all the warmth of the owner, made it the perfect place to relax and appreciate the small, unexpected encounters that can make an already good day even more enjoyable.

Now 88 years old, the master has run the business for just shy of half a century, and as he watched the closing ceremony of the Osaka Expo, and I enjoyed a coffee, life briefly at least seemed so much simpler.

Before leaving we chatted for a bit, and finding a shared love of photography, I took a few portraits — his neat little bow tie endearingly straightened for each and every shot. Then I continued on my walk, but with an added spring in my step that definitely wasn’t just because of the caffeine.

Osaka is a city I have an increasingly strong attachment to, with each and every visit proving rewarding — both personally and photographically. I simply feel at home there in the old and dated areas I frequent. Locations where the residents are, on the whole, lacking in pretence. A trait that publicly at least is often much harder to find in Tokyo.

These then are just a small selection of the photos I took on a recent visit. Brief, generally unguarded scenes, that hopefully highlight more individual moments in a region populated by many millions.

The absolutely stunning old Coca-Coca sign below was what I set out to photograph. Whether the closed-down shop it’s attached to would still be standing was a complete unknown, but having worked out the location, it was simply a case of waiting for the right weather conditions and then hopefully getting the chance to try and capture its cross-cultural retro charm.

The other photos in this short series were the sights that caught my eye on a meandering walk before and after the day’s main attraction. All of which I found interesting, but nowhere near as appealing as that lovely old sign and decaying shop front.