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Sep 25 2020 4 Comments

Disappearing Tokyo drinks and smiles

Back in the spring of 2018, I took these 3 frames of the old lady below. She initially pretended she didn’t want to be photographed, then happily slid the door open to be in full view of the camera. A brief but enjoyable moment, and one I am very happy to have captured.

Disappearing old Tokyo smiles

Disappearing old Tokyo smiles

Disappearing old Tokyo smiles

Sadly, however, I never saw her again. The old, former shop is still there, as is the bicycle in exactly the same position, but the drinks machine, and much more importantly the smiles that accompanied it, have now disappeared.

disappearing old Tokyo smiles

It wasn’t planned at all, but these little ‘before and after’ photo sets have become a growing series of sorts, so if you want to see more of what I have taken up to now, here are the links: Bar-wise, there’s a place owned by a woman who was in her 90s, a once lively little drinking spot that’s now empty and quiet, plus a tiny karaoke joint that one day simply ceased to exist. There’s also an old tofu shop that has been knocked down to make a car park, and finally, for now at least anyway, a once full of life traditional house that’s now abandoned and falling apart.

Categorized: Food and Drink, Photography

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jenn says

    9/25/2020 at 12:06 pm

    Oh my that house looks so colorless but they are such lovely pics of the lady. She looked so happy! 🙂

    Reply
    • Lee says

      9/25/2020 at 7:58 pm

      Thanks. It was such a nice moment, which made getting a record of it even better. And yes, she most definitely was!

      Reply
  2. Linus says

    9/25/2020 at 2:25 pm

    Love these before and after sets. Makes you really realise how fast time passes and how fast things change.

    Reply
    • Lee says

      9/25/2020 at 8:02 pm

      Cheers. Very good to hear. And yeah, it really does. Often seems that things are changing faster than ever as well, with so many older buildings disappearing. But as they aren’t built to last, I suppose that’s inevitable.

      Reply

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