Photographs from a small group of islands
Japanese standing bars are wonderful. There’s the usual decent food and cheap booze, along with the added bonus of a really good vibe. The latter is perhaps due to their decidedly rough and ready nature, or maybe even the fairly frequent coming and going of customers, but either way, they are always very convivial. Places where it’s incredibly easy to chat, feel completely at home, and also have fun, unexpected interactions.
Coffee Amikane doesn’t open very often, or indeed for very long. Just Tuesdays and Saturdays. From 7am to around 9. There are only 6 seats too. And drinks-wise, you can have coffee. That’s it. No size options. No flavours. No fancy embellishments. Just coffee. But when you are nearing 90 and still working, that’s presumably more than enough to worry about.
Tokyo doesn’t lack coffee shops. Not in any way whatsoever. And perhaps predictably, the big chains dominate; their many seats inexplicably almost always occupied.
But there are alternatives. Mercifully there are a good number of them as well, although it’s hard to imagine that too many have owners as old as the lady below. A lovely woman now well into her 80s, she unhurriedly makes coffee and tea in the limited space available. Then equally unhurriedly, she carries it up to her customers on the floor above. This previously photographed floor, to be exact.
Even in these days of limited attention spans and built in obsolescence, the speed at which Tokyo transforms itself can still be dizzying. Buildings often go up and down at a startling rate, plus the businesses in them seem to change hands regularly. And yet at the same time, some things do mercifully stay the same. Like this old coffee shop for example. A fantastically cluttered little place that unapologetically offers little more than a tentative nod towards any kind of modernity.
Tokyo can be a horribly noisy city. Unbearably busy at times too. But mercifully, even amidst all the hustle and bustle, it’s still possible to find a quiet spot for a couple of much needed quiet drinks.
