Photography

Despite far less interaction with foreign types, it’s always surprising how much more open and welcoming people tend to be in Japan’s countryside. The ready smiles, willingness to talk and general nonchalance providing an inexplicable contrast to many urban situations — particularly so in supposedly cosmopolitan Tokyo. A considerably more relaxed approach to life that these two lovely ladies perfectly exemplify.

Lovely ladies aside, I’ve been testing out the option of photos being clickable, allowing visitors to see a bigger, sharper and higher resolution version. It seems to have been working fine too. So from now on — and going back to mid-January or so — all photographs posted on Tokyo Times will be expandable. Pointless on a phone of course, but way better viewing on a desktop.

Tokyo’s streets are notoriously busy. Streets that’ll only get busier too, as more and more people move to the capital. But the continued growth of Tokyo, along with Japan’s other large cities, can obviously have a devastating effect on the surrounding regions — particularly so when coupled with a declining population. Not unusually resulting in streets where permanently shuttered premises way outnumber the people.

Tokyo is a truly massive, multi-layered metropolis, but like big cities the world over, it’s still all about the people.