Food and Drink

Traditional shotengai (shopping streets) are everywhere in Tokyo. Areas both big and small that are always interesting due to their independent little stores and eateries. For me personally, however, it’s the older and decidedly rundown ones that are the most appealing, and due to the people in particular, they are places well worth regular re-visits. An approach that allows for a more accurate and thorough document of both the streets and their structures.

That desire to return again and again was something I felt keenly when in Osaka recently, as the dated shotengai there are truly fascinating. Long, criss-crossing and mostly covered streets that while similar to those in the capital, also feel quite different. Routes that I walked back and forth for days. A period of time that was both fulfilling and, it has to be said, slightly frustrating, as the more I saw, the more I wanted to return. Unfortunately that won’t be anytime soon, so until I do, here is a small taste of what I witnessed.

There’s invariably a lot of coverage detailing Japan’s cutting edge technology and Tokyo’s futuristic looks, but an awful lot of that modernity is little more than a thin veneer over what is in many ways a dated and ageing society. That said, it is changing — at least appearance wise anyway, with a lot of history being unceremoniously erased. And yet so much remains. Little vignettes of the past that still sit firmly in the present. These old shops then are examples of that. All of which were photographed during the last month in Osaka, Hyogo and Tokyo.

Japan has plenty of old and dated coffee shops. Establishments that look and feel like they belong in a completely different era. At the same time, it’s a spell that can easily be broken by a TV playing in the corner, or even something minor like a modern appliance or menu.

This almost 80 year old establishment, on the other hand, has no such distractions. Everything from the dust and grime to the ageing proprietor takes you back to an earlier time. A business that has been in the owner’s family since its inception, and with coffee only costing ¥160 a cup, it’s very clearly love rather than money that keeps him going. For how much longer it’s impossible to say, but until the day it finally closes, it’ll remain a place that is truly like no other.

In Osaka’s Ikuno ward, where Tsuruhashi, the city’s Korea Town is located, 1 in 4 residents are foreign nationals, which in largely homogenous Japan is a truly huge number. An element that makes the area interesting on a purely sociological level, along with the history behind those statistics — particularly so as many of the listed ‘foreigners’ were actually born and raised in Japan.

At the same time, Tsuruhashi is also an incredible location to explore. A place that really does look and feel like nowhere else I’ve been to in Japan. On top of that, the people are interesting and open, making the whole area a joy to photograph. So below then are some shots from a few hours spent there several weeks ago.

This old school Chinese restaurant is ordinary in every way. The signage, red countered interior, and the ageing couple diligently working away just like they have done for decades. None of it is unusual or especially memorable. And yet at the same time, there’s so much beauty to be found there, along with that simple pleasure of a simple, everyday experience.

There is no shortage of stunning and wonderfully dated old shop signs in Tokyo. In fact, there are some I like so much that I’ve created a series dedicated to them on my portfolio site. And yet even in such rarefied company, the peeling and prominent name above this restaurant still stands out.