Journeys in photographs and words.

Places we stopped along the way

Chuo, Tokyo

Takayanagi Tofu Shop

From: A downtown table in a Tokyo row house

A small tofu shop with a green awning
A small tofu shop with a green awning

An old-fashioned neighborhood tofu shop on a back street in Ningyocho. Under the green awning, the chilled case holds firm and silken tofu, fried tofu, ganmodoki and natto, and the copper-clad second-floor wall has gone green with age. The shop also supplies restaurants nearby. The just-made tofu went into my morning miso soup.

1-8-10 Nihonbashi-Ningyocho, Chuo, Tokyo

Sources: kinarino.jp city.chuo.lg.jp

This moment in the journey

The neighborhood tofu shop

I walked down a sunlit street to the tofu shop, a small place with a green awning. In the chilled case out front sat firm and silken tofu, fried tofu and ganmodoki, each with a red price tag. It is a popular shop that also supplies restaurants in the neighborhood.

The second-floor wall was clad in copper sheets gone green with age, with a ventilation pipe poking out. Across the Sumida River, high-rises stood in a row and the water sparkled. I like how time moves slowly and peacefully here.

Watch this scene on YouTube0:48

Read this scene in the full journey

A shitamachi street in morning light, high-rises beyond
A shitamachi street in morning light, high-rises beyond
The chilled case and handwritten price list at the tofu shop
The chilled case and handwritten price list at the tofu shop
Packs of tofu with red price tags in the chilled case
Packs of tofu with red price tags in the chilled case
Buying tofu at the shop's front counter
Buying tofu at the shop's front counter
A copper-clad wall gone green, with a ventilation pipe
A copper-clad wall gone green, with a ventilation pipe
High-rises and a bridge across the Sumida River
High-rises and a bridge across the Sumida River