Photographs from a small group of islands
After a horribly long year, and quite possibly a stressful morning, it’s totally understandable that this Tokyo salaryman wanted to do little more than lie down and bathe in the (very) late autumn sun during his lunch break. A time to relax, and considering the length of time he was actually lying there, perhaps also a time to fantasise about never, ever returning to the office.
When you work all day in a dark little alleyway, idyllic visions of the world outside are clearly deemed necessary.
Despite Tokyo being a city of ramen lovers, there’s also a seemingly never ending number of ramen shops, so whether the owner of the little eatery below lost the battle of increased competition, or simply lost the battle against time, I don’t know. The wonderfully dated nature of the fittings, however, do seem to suggest it was the latter, and such an ending sadly wouldn’t be the only one I’ve photographed this year. Yet whatever the reason, the place still looks absolutely incredible despite being abandoned.
The narrow alleyway on the left led up to a couple of second floor rooms which were interesting enough. Or the combined cassette and 8 track karaoke machine was anyway.
But music player aside, it’s without a doubt all about those stunningly retro red chairs.
A solitary, rather lonely looking figure, yet that small, and at the same time hugely significant Pfizer sign in the foreground is a nice reminder that more sociable times are finally set to return.
An unusually quiet Tokyo moment that felt a world away from the world just outside.
