Japanese people are blessed with a long life. Consider this: average age for a Japanese man is 79.5 years and that of a Japanese woman is 85.9 years.
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Ciao
Intl Saturdays 19: Longevity
Tag: Japan
Intl Saturdays 16: Juxtaposition in Tokyo
Barring the Imperial Palace, there are very few places left in Tokyo which are reminiscent of an old era. (Let’s add the Yakotori alley to that list (will put up its picture some other day)). Most of old Tokyo was wiped out during the WWII. What you get to see in Tokyo now are structures which are not older than say 40-50 years (at least in the major part of Tokyo AFAIK).
Although Japan still has the King and the Queen, they are just that in name. They do not have any say in political matters as such. They still live in a palace, which is in the middle of Tokyo surrounded by lovely open spaces and greenery. I just loved the sound while walking on the pebbly, gravel-ly path that lead upto the Imperial palace gates.
This is the only frame where i could manage to capture the contrast of the old against the new (one of my favourite things whenever i am in any city. There is just something about the era gone past. The Golden Age syndrome some call it, of which i am a surefire victim).
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Ciao
Intl Saturdays 15: Cuteness
Asakusa temple premise is buzzing with people. When i came out of the temple from the side and was going to capture it, i noticed this family exiting the temple as well. I really liked the expression on the lil one’s face and the insane detailing in her shoes and socks and the lovely hair. It was cuteness personified. And i really was lucky to have the baby stare right at me:)
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Ciao
Intl Saturdays 14: The Nut Seller
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Intl Saturdays 11: Shoegasm
Takeshita Dori opposite the Harajuku metro station has numerous such shops. This particular shop had laid out all their ladies’ shoes in this very unconventional manner which immediately grabbed my attention from afar. Thanks to the cooler climate of Tokyo, these shoes have optimum insulation for the ankles. While the tag says 50 per cent off, they were still quite expensive by Indian standards.
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Ciao
Intl Saturdays 10: Attention!
While in Tokyo, i was really fascinated to see people standing ramrod straight while waiting.
Waiting at the signal to cross the road…
… or waiting for the cash to come out of this ATM…
… or just waiting to finish a call on the cellphone.
It was just so completely different from our natural tendency to lean on either leg. It is as if their brain is programmed to be in the ‘Attention’ pose. Maybe that is one of the reason they are so fit and so toned. I am not kidding when i say this: I could count the number of obese people i saw (in the week that i was in Tokyo) on one hand!
Here are some in colour.
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Ciao
Intl Saturdays 6: A convex mirror
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Intl Saturdays 5: The Harajuku GIrl 1
Tokyo has this street called the Takeshita Dori bang opposite the Harajuku metro station. Takeshita Dori is a 400-500m long pedestrian-only street. It is littered with eat-out joints, fashion botiques, a variety of independent shops selling various accessories, video-game parlors and so on. But the real reason to go there is to witness Japanese youngsters dressed in their favourite anime characters. The amount of detailing some of them go to is insane, and i will showcase some of those in the coming Saturdays.
This was the first girl I came across as i was entering the Takeshita Dori, who was hanging out with a group of her friends, also dressed in costumes, and just having a good time. When i pointed my camera in her face, she quickly gulped down the drink she had and flashed the traditional peace sign (which apparently a lot of Japanese people whom i photographed do) as she posed. I really loved her scarf with those skull and bones symbol:)
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Ciao
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