Dodging, or descending into, the shadows?
Photography
Japanese standing bar smiles
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.
Japanese middle-aged male schoolgirl
Some girls are bigger than others.
Old, faded and decrepit Tokyo
This is not the usual image of Tokyo. Well, not usual when compared to what is often seen in the media. And yet in many instances, it’s the kind of sight that’s actually more common.
A tiny Tokyo coffee shop and its elderly owner
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.
