Food and Drink

There are many wonderful things about wandering Tokyo with a camera, but the consistency with which the city conjures up surprises is definitely one of the highlights. Unexpected moments and meetings that can not only make a day, but all being well, make for some decent photos too.

These then are a few of those encounters, along with several far more ordinary scenes. All of them taken on two of my photowalk tours over the past week.

The varied array of ageing structures that can still be found in Tokyo are endlessly fascinating, but more than those it’s the people in and around them that really make the city what it is. These then are just some of those citizens both seen and encountered on a recent, and enjoyably roaming, east Tokyo photowalk.

Due to the sheer scale of Tokyo and its environs, pretty much every walk is special, even when regular, day-to-day moments are all there is to photograph. In fact, more often than not, that’s even better, as there’s invariably something pleasing about such mundane encounters. Small episodes that make up so much of our lives, and yet at the same time are all too easily dismissed as mere interludes between supposedly more important activities.

Below then are a series of such scenes, along with some similarly ordinary urban backdrops. All of them captured on a couple of recent walks in Tokyo and Kanagawa.

When travelling in Japan, my aim, just like in Tokyo, is to try and capture the older parts of each place I visit. Lost in time locations that hark back to a different era, as well as holding the lives and local stories of numerous generations.

With that in mind then, here are some recent photos from the Shikoku city of Takamatsu. A variety of sights and scenery that also included time in a small bar with its nearly 99 year old owner. An evening that was especially memorable, and in many ways, it seemed to encapsulate these kinds of areas. The building is way past its natural lifespan, and the owner is sadly approaching hers, meaning dereliction or demolition is all the future holds.

That said, until such times, these remain parts of Japan to seek out, explore, and perhaps more importantly, simply appreciate.

I posted photos from this fabulously dated old Tokyo coffee shop early last year, so this is an update of sorts. Happily not an establishment update, as nothing much has changed in that department during the six decades it’s been in operation, making a mere twelve months almost no time at all. Instead, it’s simply the addition of a few new images from a recent visit, along with a slight re-working of the older ones.

Entering the place is genuinely like stepping back into a different era, and the passage of time is evident everywhere, from the patched up seating and torn light shades, to the almost comically worn carpet. A truly wonderful subterranean space where the cups are heavy, the smell of smoke ever-present, and the sense of escape utterly priceless.