Abandoned Bookshop

Apr 13, 2020

You do not have to travel far from the polished city centre before you start to see shops and stores that have been shuttered for the last time. Whilst it can be sad to see, and often fills my mind with the ghosts of happier days, the slow ageing of the materials is beautiful in its own right.

Pink, white and blue

Mar 30, 2020

This office block in Sumida City caught my eye, the very man made colour framed by the pink, white and blue of nature. It overlooks the Sumida River Park, a very pleasant long thin park whose pathways mark the boundary between many of the eastern and western districts of Sumida ward.

Complex Road Junction

Mar 17, 2020

Hakozaki Junction in Kakigaracho is typical of many such junctions in Tokyo. Multiple levels of overhead roads somehow weaving between hi-rise buildings, and barely noticeable from the streets below.

Cans

Mar 06, 2020

There is something tidy and considerate about the Japanese people. It is something I became aware of on my first visit and something that I feel has improved the way I behave. In this scene you can see that even on the edges of the big city the ubiquitous vending machines are used to a much greater extent than the provided bins can cope with. And yet the discarded tins are arranged as neatly as can be managed, awaiting collection and recycling.…

Rust

Feb 22, 2020

Rust is a universal sign of decay, and it may suprise some that you do not have to travel far in Tokyo to see it. Here, in northern Tokyo, two well rusted bicycles stand guard outside an apparantly abandoned store like the guardian sentinals outside a shrine. You can see rust stains on the road suggesting the bikes have been in situ for quite some time, giving the impression the road is rarely travelled.…

Arakawa home

Feb 08, 2020

Not all buildings in Tokyo are big, bright and new. Some homes, stores and businesses really are from a different age, and it is suprising how little distance you have to travel to find them. This is an example from Arakawa.

Tokyo Station

Jan 25, 2020

Tokyo Station is an immense building with an amazing history. Here is the south side of the station, and the central dome. It sits astride a massively complex transit system nexus and a vast underground shopping mall. With trains and metros, taxis, busses and coaches it truely is a location where journeys begin, end and transition.

Count the buildings

Jan 10, 2020

The variety in size, design, colour, texture and function of buildings in Tokyo never ceases to amaze and fascinate me. Looking east from the superb vantage point of the Skytree out over Kyojima and Yahiro, I wonder how many buildings there are in this one small area of the city. I wonder if any two are the same. The windows are like stars in the sky or grains of sand on a beach - uncountable.…

Shibuya in the rain

Dec 26, 2019

The night time city is always aglow with its endless neon (or more likely LED) lights, but when it rains the streets are covered with rivers of reflected lights that are quite otherworldly. The Shibuya Scramble Crossing is always a special place to be, but at night in a quiet warm rain with my combini umbrella there are few other places I would rather be.

Joyful Shopping Street

Dec 10, 2019

Whilst not necessarily “Joyful” as such, I always find it a joy to discover these covered shopping streets, or shotengai, that still cater for their local communities. There are numerous little stores selling all manner of produce and services. And above them are often the residences of the store owners. This one, actually called the Joyful Minowa Shopping Street, is in Minamisenju and my favourite way to get there is to take the Arakawa Tram to the terminus at Minowabashi.…