A quiet spot in traditional surroundings is clearly perfect for a bit of equally quiet contemplation.
Quiet contemplation in a traditional Japanese house
Photography
Looking in and out of an old Tokyo bar
There are many good things about Tokyo, and the city’s old-style, independently owned little bars and eateries are up there with the best of them. Places where it’s possible to peer into the past, and yet at the same time, also the future.
Another photograph of this bar, taken on the same day but from a completely different angle, can be seen here.
A ‘Japanese only’ place in Tokyo’s red light district
There will of course be the argument that language skills are needed to speak through the ‘magic mirror’ this place so proudly possesses. Hence the nationality requirement. But Japanese ability is in no way just restricted to those born here, and anyway, this isn’t the only establishment to enforce such restrictions. Not even in this area in fact, let alone the whole of Japan. And yet what really struck me was the darkly comic irony of the internationally sounding American Crystal being anything but.
Tokyo autumn colours
Photographing flowers and foliage isn’t my thing. I don’t really enjoy it, and invariably I get a very similar feeling when it comes to the results. But to not do so when in possession of a camera in Japan is practically a crime. And to be fair, the colours really are beautiful at this time of year.
For the all too brief time that they last.
Will you marry me?
Please?
