Tiny Tofu Shop in Old Tokyo

 

Scattered throughout Tokyo's maze of backstreets are thousands of tiny buildings and I love them all. Weird street food places, cozy pocket bars that seat six or less, shops, offices and homes, many of these shoebox domains fill the space between two huge skyscrapers or run in rows down forgotten alleys. It's easy to imagine what life might be in there. I fantiszie about owning one of these little anonymous bunkers, my own safe house where I could holed up when these got too strange. Of course the irony is if I had one now, I'd not be allowed to visit it due to the COVID-19 travel restrictions.

I've hunted down and photographed more than a few, but this week's drawing is from one Insta-spam from an account called "masktnak".  This is a tofu shop in Old Tokyo. I wonder about who owns it and how long they have been there making tofu and what will happen to the shop after they die. 

Ballpoint pen was my medium of choice once again and I used it in a causal, relaxed style that I'm mostly pleased with. I'd like to try a different kind of pen, maybe draw it more cleanly and larger on another kind of paper. For now, this small drawing of a tiny tofu somewhere in Old Tokyo feels good for me.

How are your creative projects going so far for 2022?

OK HW