Photographs from a small group of islands
They don’t appear very often, but with the announcement that a disruptive neighbour, unpredictable dictator and the world’s greatest ever golfer had died, it wasn’t surprising to see special edition newspapers being handed out at Tokyo stations.
Approaching this priest, who was sat perfectly still, I honestly thought he was a display of some sort, or an educational exhibit maybe. In fact only when I got nearer, and he blinked, did I become aware that he wasn’t. A realisation that made me jump, although he, rather predictably, remained motionless.
Now why he was there and what the significance was, I really don’t know, but what is for certain is that he made for quite a striking sight.
A pirate he may be, but in Tokyo, Captain Jack Sparrow has to cobble together his pieces of eight just like all the other commuters, and travel to work by train.
Apart from in or just around train stations, it’s unusual to see people running in Tokyo. Or at least it is for those not dressed appropriately. So whatever, or indeed whoever, this woman was running from or to, it must have been important.
Coffee shops are plentiful in Tokyo, but the only trouble is, many of them are much the same. Big companies, selling colossal amounts of coffee, in comfy but ultimately characterless surroundings.
Not that there aren’t any independent shops of course, it’s just finding them. But when one does, they often offer a far more interesting look.
