A young man with an appearance very much of this time, and yet also of a very different time.
The last remaining stores of a little Japanese shopping arcade
It was once a little hub of local shops, but these days this narrow arcade is more or less just a wooden shell with empty spaces where most of the businesses once stood. Only two of the original stores are still open, and even then, the green tea outlet looks more like a museum piece than a fully functioning operation. The tofu place next door, on the other hand, is very much a going concern, and considering the location, it still has a steady enough supply of customers.
A more modern appendage at one end seems to enjoy the majority of visitors, but presumably when either that or the tofu shop call it a day, then the bulldozers will finally move in. Until then, however, it remains a fascinating glimpse of Japan before supermarkets and convenience stores became common.
Game consoles, music and lots of memories in an abandoned Japanese home
Some of the abandoned homes I’ve photographed over the years have begun the slow process of being taken back by Mother Nature, whereas others are almost beyond belief in their scale and opulence. The house below, on the other hand, felt very different. A lot of it was filled with clutter, but a few rooms gave a real sense of the lives once lived there, such as their interests, and the approximate time period. A weird sense of intimacy that was further added to by the photo albums left behind. Faces that conjure up so many questions, but at the same time offer next to nothing in the way of answers, as despite the words of Karen Carpenter that once echoed throughout the house, it will sadly never be yesterday once more.
An old and truly unique part of Tokyo’s subway system
Some of these photos have appeared on Tokyo Times before, but with the addition of several taken very recently, and others from quite a few years ago, it seemed like the right time to put them all together as a document of sorts. My little photographic homage to a part of Tokyo’s subway system that is genuinely unlike the rest of it.
There have been changes in the time I’ve been visiting. The bars have new owners and now look quite different. Also, the unusually located vending machine is sadly no longer there. But on the whole it’s pretty much still the same. Presumably the same as it has been for many decades too. A rare glimpse of how things once looked, and in regards these photos, how it has looked over the last 10 years or so.
An old Japanese bar that’s little more than a shed
Many of the little bars and eateries I like to visit are completely unknown quantities on the inside — their faded exteriors not always reflective of what lies behind the sliding doors. The contents of this ramshackle structure by the side of a road several hours north of Tokyo, on the other hand, were pretty much exactly as imagined, right down to the septuagenarian owner. A man who has been running the place for nearly half a decade, and at 78 years of age, has no intention of shutting up shop just yet. In fact he rarely even has holidays, opening seven nights a week and only taking time off to celebrate special occasions.
The one unexpected thing, however, was the complete lack of a toilet. A situation that’s not ideal when beers are being consumed. So it was either try and somehow gallantly hold on, or pop round the side and brave the elements. And so somewhat inevitably, several unceremonious sojourns into the bushes were added to the experience of the evening.
