Jan 29

Jan 29 The Photographers Bar

Last night I headed off to Shinjuku to meet up with a friend of mine who was in town on business. I love getting back to Shinjuku. I spent the first 1o years of my career working in Shinjuku so this area is very familiar to me. Today's configuration: Leica M Monochrom 28mm f/2.0

I had a little time before we were meeting so I explored the maze of electronic shops to see what was for sale.

This was my first office building in Japan... The famous Mitsui Building.

We decided to head off to Golden Gai. We needed to cut through the seedy Kabukicho on the way. We passed the Robot Restaurant. I have never been here but I want to one day...

Golden Gai is a small area of Shinjuku in Tokyo, Japan that is famous by architectural interest as well a budding nightlife area. There are over 200 tiny shanty-style bars and restaurants within the six narrow alleys that make up Golden Gai. Most of these bars seat only 5 or 6 people in them adding to their charm. Golden Gai provides a view into the relatively recent past of Tokyo when much of the city was made up of narrow lanes and tiny two story buildings. You can find Golden Gai a few minutes from the East Exit of Shinjuku Station between the Shinjuku City Office and the Hanazono Shrine. It’s worth a trip to see Japan of past and enjoy some warm hospitality.

Many of the bars in Golden Gai are themed and I have been searching for the ever elusive Kodoji, aka The Photographer's Bar, duly named as it is covered in photographs, photobooks and you can occasionally find photography legends such as Daido Moriyama hanging out in there. Regulars have their own bottles. I might need to become a regular...

Meet Hajime and Tomoko. We ended up talking for a while. Hajime it turns out is a designer and producer of photobooks. We spoke for a while on what I want to do with ShootTokyo's book later this year. I might engage him to help me.