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Jul 20 2015 16 Comments

Home sweet tumbledown Tokyo home?

old tokyo home

Categorized: Photography

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. d. minnis says

    7/20/2015 at 11:40 am

    Another gem Lee. I wonder what your pile of discarded photos looks like, they can’t all be as wonderful as the ones you post. Your eyes just seem to know what to capture.

    Reply
    • Lee says

      7/20/2015 at 4:55 pm

      Cheers! Mostly a case of keeping my eyes open and trying to be aware of everything going on around me.

      No, they aren’t. Sometimes come home with photos I’m happy with, but invariably many of them aren’t that good.

      Reply
  2. Al says

    7/20/2015 at 2:27 pm

    Wow. Is that really a house?! 😮

    Reply
    • Lee says

      7/20/2015 at 4:56 pm

      It is. Not so bad in the warmer months, but it can’t be much fun living there in winter…

      Reply
  3. Hans ter Horst says

    7/20/2015 at 2:35 pm

    Wow, I really like your photos documenting the side of Japan most tourists fail to spot; it is so easy to assume these old buildings to be abandoned or used for land speculation, but all of a sudden you realize people are living there.

    Reply
    • Lee says

      7/20/2015 at 4:58 pm

      Thanks. Many times I’ve been sure a house was empty, but then seen a light on, or somebody inside. Pretty shocking to be honest to se the kinds of places some people live in. Particularly so in a city as wealthy as Tokyo.

      Reply
  4. Trev says

    7/20/2015 at 3:52 pm

    What a fabulous patchwork of glass panels. And then the appearance of this wonderful looking character, centre stage. Brilliant. Was it a coincidence that she popped her head out to grab the post as you passed by, or had you been waiting half the day for someone to appear?

    Reply
    • Lee says

      7/20/2015 at 5:02 pm

      Cheers!

      I’d seen her walking up the street and thought she looked interesting. So thought I’d try and get a photo of her. But then couldn’t believe my luck when she walked up to the house. Even turning towards me before going in. One of those very rare moments when everything just works out perfectly.

      Reply
  5. Coli says

    7/20/2015 at 6:51 pm

    Absolutely beautiful. Love this picture. Definitely you need to publish a book Lee

    Reply
    • Lee says

      7/20/2015 at 9:23 pm

      You are too kind!

      Thanks a lot. Glad you like it. Was very pleased to be there just at the right time.

      Reply
  6. akari says

    7/20/2015 at 7:45 pm

    I see a long history. it a Invaluable

    Reply
    • Lee says

      7/20/2015 at 9:23 pm

      It is. Hopefully that history will last a good while longer too.

      Reply
  7. Squidpuppy says

    7/21/2015 at 3:59 am

    Wait, haven’t we seen this facade before, but without the obaasan? Is it in your neighborhood, or along a regular route? Not that I mind; it’s a great image. There’s just something very Showa natsukashii about it. I can gaze at it for minutes on end, lost in memories. How much do you wanna bet there’s a dusty Hummel procelain figurine behind those doors somewhere (or at least a tanuki), and a calendar from 1968 showing Fujisan?

    Reply
    • Lee says

      7/21/2015 at 7:58 am

      Yes, a good while ago. It’s on a route I sometimes walk, but as it’s in the middle of a warren of little streets, I don’t always pass it. Always a treat when I do though, and especially on the occasion above.

      It’s a wonderful place, isn’t it? A story in itself. And as for the bet, I’d wager a good amount, very confident of a nice return.

      Reply
  8. Polygon-Window says

    7/21/2015 at 4:25 am

    I love your work so much. Surprising how poor the conditions some Japanese people live in

    Reply
    • Lee says

      7/21/2015 at 8:01 am

      Thanks a lot.

      Yes, despite seeing places like this – and very often much worse – on a daily basis, it never ceases to shock me how some people live. Provided she has air conditioning the summer months should be bearable enough, but come winter it must be miserable to say the least…

      Reply

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