Tokyo Times

It’s impossible to even guess how many times I must have walked past this lovely looking old sweet shop — both on my own, and on one of my Tokyo photowalk tours. A sight that due to its patched up nature and overgrown exterior never disappointed. There was the added bonus of the lovely little karaoke sign for the establishment next door too. The only problem was that upon turning the corner, there was always the very real chance of it not being there anymore. Partly because so many of Tokyo’s older structures are disappearing, but even more so due to the planned widening of the road, with this place slowly but surely becoming one of the last surviving hold outs.

And just recently that day sadly arrived. Initially the shop was simply shut with a sign posted saying thanks for all the custom, along with the added info that circumstances meant they had to close down after 50 years in business. Then not long after that the demolition crew arrived and unceremoniously started to tear it down. A scene that on the second day was made all the more poignant by the man on the left watching it all happen. His own shop once occupied the exact spot he was standing on, so I’ve included a photo of him working there back in the day.

But that was then and this is now, and sadly neither place exists anymore. Cars will undoubtedly travel by quicker in the future, but the journey itself will be a lot less interesting.

In many parts of the world, hygiene inspectors would probably (and admittedly quite rightly) put an immediate stop to this Tokyo gyoza shop the moment they set eyes upon it. And yet that said, it’s hardly unusual in its decidedly carefree approach to cleanliness. Something that’s very apparent in many of the bars and eating places I’ve featured before. An aspect of Japanese life that provides one of the country’s many contradictions, as despite the overwhelming adherence to rules, fundamentals such as basic kitchen hygiene can be happily considered inconsequential.

Not that I’m complaining. Quite the opposite in fact, as personally, I find such places absolutely fascinating. They are invariably very photogenic too. And just like pretty much all of them, the food this one makes is as delicious as the surroundings are dirty.

Back in July last year I wrote this about an incredible little coffee shop I’d just visited in Osaka:

“Japan has plenty of old and dated coffee shops. Establishments that look and feel like they belong in a completely different era. At the same time, it’s a spell that can easily be broken by a TV playing in the corner, or even something minor like a modern appliance or menu.

This almost 80 year old establishment, on the other hand, has no such distractions. Everything from the dust and grime to the ageing proprietor takes you back to an earlier time. A business that has been in the owner’s family since its inception, and with coffee only costing ¥160 a cup, it’s very clearly love rather than money that keeps him going. For how much longer it’s impossible to say, but until the day it finally closes, it’ll remain a place that is truly like no other.”

Sadly it turns out the shop didn’t keep going for much longer at all, as on a return visit towards the end of last year, it was closed. Not just for the day either, but forever — something confirmed by a chat to the man running the shop opposite. The lovely old master, he was disappointed to say, died in August. Here then, as a way to remember, are photos once again from that very special visit, along with the scene that I found several months later.

Old-style Chinese restaurants have appeared on these pages before. Some are thankfully still in business, whereas others have sadly shut up shop forever — their owners having died or were simply too old to carry on.

This one, however, is still very much a going concern, as despite being in operation for 48 years, the couple in charge show no sign of hanging up their pots and pans just yet. An incredible little place not far at all from the busy and bustling streets of Shinjuku, but both its interior and exterior seem to be from a very different time. One when life was a bit slower and convenient but dull chain restaurants didn’t dominate the city’s streets.