Tokyo Times

A few weeks ago I did my first official Osaka photowalks. Three days of exploring and photographing the city’s older, grittier neighbourhoods — all of which are a very different world from the busy streets and bright lights of Dotonbori and the Glico man.

Below I’ve pasted the review of those walks, and the photos that follow are a taste of what we saw. Quieter scenes where time seems to have stood still. All shot in areas that have no fancy modern shops or restaurants, and aside from the occasional convenience store, no famous chains either. In fact, in these instances at least, there aren’t even any smartphones. Just life as it once was, and for now at least, still is.

Review:

We have engaged Lee for full day Tokyo photowalk tours on several previous occasions, and this time were pleased to have the opportunity to enjoy a three day tour with him in Osaka.

Lee’s 20+ years of living the culture and back street life of Japan, plus his easy-going friendly personality, provided the osmotic catalyst that allowed us to leave our tourist bubble and truly see the life and people in the less trodden neighbourhoods. As always the tour was tailored to us, and we got to see, taste, hear and learn about the Japan that is mostly hidden from us. 

Lee sought out many genuine scenes that could have been from any time right back to the sixties. The likes of now vanishingly rare vending machines, plus shopkeepers from another era who were often happy to engage with a bit of chat giving us a precious glimpse into their long histories.

Lee also has the natural ability to take a random encounter and produce unique impromptu experiences. Such as a look around the inside of a small town theatre after a chat with a local, and, after passing an unusual doorway, seeing an amazing portrait exhibition of local day labourers taken over a ten year period.

There is never a moment that Lee doesn’t have some information or story to tell as we walk around, so every day was entertaining, educational, and full of photographic opportunities.

Of all the wonderful things we brought back from our visit to Japan, the memories of this tour are the most valuable.

Mark & Deborah, November 2024

For something slightly different, this is a collection of photos taken at Japanese train and subway stations. Images that date from just last week to over a decade ago. Also, most are from Tokyo, but a few were taken outside the capital.

That said, regardless of where they were shot, train travel is an integral part of life in Japan — especially city life. The busy and invariably stressful commute in particular an often unavoidable necessity. These, however, show a slightly different side of the public transport experience. Quieter, as well as less generic moments captured before, after and between journeys.

The last post covered day 1 of cycling the Shimanami Kaido. A route that connects Hiroshima prefecture to Shikoku.

The second and final stretch of the cycle was nicely overcast, which as well as keeping the temperature down, also made the views out to sea incredibly quiet and peaceful. Scenery that not only matched the feel of life on the islands, but it also perfectly captured the serenity of the day — a Sunday.

All in all it was a truly fascinating weekend that culminated in us making our way over the Kurushima Kaikyo suspension bridge. Once the world’s longest, it was a sight to behold and a similarly impressive experience crossing it, making it the perfect end to a thoroughly enjoyable journey.

The Shimanami Kaido is an expressway that connects Onomichi in Hiroshima prefecture, to the Shikoku city of Imabari. A series of roads that cross several islands, along with the bridges that connect them. It also incorporates a well marked and similarly well thought out cycle path that avoids the main thoroughfares and so covers more of the islands.

When sticking to the designated route, the cycle course is somewhere in the region of 70km, but with a couple of days to complete it, my friend and I did over double that, along with a fair bit of walking in between. An approach that allowed us to see even more of the islands, and in doing so, get something of a sense of life there. Or perhaps more accurately, a sense of how life once was, as unsurprisingly, the population in the area isn’t what it used to be.

The photos below then are what we saw on day 1. A really enjoyable exploration that provided much more to look at inland, rather than out to sea, whereas the resultant photos from the second and final day are more a mixture of the two.

Scenes from this old Tokyo neighbourhood have made numerous appearances on these pages, but every day is different, with new moments and faces, so here then are some more from a photowalk I conducted there last week.

There’s no shortage of photos on these pages of rundown old towns and resort spots. Such decline, however, isn’t only found in the country’s more rural areas, as Japan’s changing demographics mean more and more municipalities are slowly beginning to fade away.

Imabari in Ehime prefecture is one such story. It gained city status in 1920 and over the years gradually grew in size, but the population has steadily fallen since 1980, with the number of residents now down about 25 percent from that nearly half-century ago peak. A trend that will likely see the number of residents fall back to the city’s formation levels in the not too distant future.

All that said, such changes aren’t overly visible around the station area, but take a short walk and it’s all too evident what was, and now what is. An area where the people were lovely, but the number of empty properties quite prophetic — a situation perfectly summed up by the friendly button and sewing shop owner who kindly stood outside her family store for a portrait. It has been in operation for 75 years, and despite taking the business on as a second generation proprietor, the lady is resigned to being the last. And when the day eventually comes to shut up shop for the final time, the building will be unceremoniously locked up and left empty like the ones that already surround it.