If there’s one thing that I miss about being in Japan it’s the late nights riding my bike from Asakusa through various neighborhoods to meet up with friends and fam for dinner, drinks and to catch up for hang sessions. One of my last outings during the last tour found our group after dinner rolling through the streets with photographer Takuya having his trusty 35mm camera in hand capturing the moments.
Along with the usual convenience store stop to buy beer to drink while riding our bikes we made a stop to the real life neighborhood of one of my favorite anime characters, Yabuki Joe (Tomorrow’s Joe) who was a boxer and the series was adapted from the manga series, Ashita no Joe. The series made it’s debut in 1980 as well as the soundtrack which has a dope spacey jazz-funk rendition of Isaac Hayes’ Shaft theme which is perfectly fitting for the Nostalgia King aesthetic.
From there it was an easy breeze through the red window district (red light district) which doesn’t have the same red lights as other areas in Japan (or Amsterdam) because this particular area was bombed during the war and then rebuilt afterwards. It’s always interesting to see the contrast between old and new and how the architecture and structures changes only a few steps away.
The final stop of the night after picking up snacks at the local 7-11 was hanging out with Takeshi at his studio looking at his art that he painted and collectibles that he’s acquired over the years that make up his space. Late nights with friends enjoying life just feels so right. It’s the peacefulness of the streets, the great conversations, the connections amongst individuals losing themselves in time that makes the world seem to revolve around them with nothing from the outside existing. It’s nights like that, that you wish you could live over and over.
Photos (c) @takuyainoue__
Referring back to Yabuki Joe (Tomorrow’s Joe) and the song that I mentioned above.