Photography

The sleep-deprived life of a Japanese salaryman? Seemingly either too drained to do much more than snooze on a day off, or worse still, even more tired due to extra work at the weekend.

Back in November, I wrote about my wife’s battle with breast cancer and the beginning of her chemotherapy treatment. A post that received so many positive and absolutely lovely messages that both of us were genuinely taken aback. Responses that we are both incredibly grateful for, as they gave us a huge lift during what was an immensely difficult time.

Needless to say things are still very difficult, and despite her incredible bravery and stoicism, there’s still a good way to go. But, seven months down the line, the chemotherapy is finally over. It hasn’t been easy. Not in the slightest. Nothing to do with this dreadful disease is. Yet that said, it does feel like she has taken a big step forward. Progress the doctors are pleased with too. So instead of a sense of dread at the well documented horrors to come, we can at last look towards the future with a tentative sense of hope.

Older, more rundown Tokyo, is what interests me the most, but now and again a nod to modernity isn’t such a bad thing. Cruising down the river on a sunny day isn’t such a bad way to spend the afternoon either.

The elderly in Tokyo are a hardy bunch, with a good number still working, let alone simply getting out and about. But in rural Japan, that toughness is taken to a whole new level, with backbreaking, physical work still done despite advancing years. Amazingly it’s work that’s done with a smile as well.