Ameyoko Markets, Ueno

After having lunch with Eri and Kondo I made my way to Ueno Park which is well known for its large homeless population. In all honesty I wasn't very confident about approaching the homeless people so I had been observing different groups from afar.

I took this photo when I was taking cover from the rain in the famous Ameyoko markets. It was started after WWII as a sort of black market for American products. These days various products such as clothes, bags, cosmetics, fresh fish, dried food and spices are sold along Ameyoko.

After 8pm or so I decided to try and get some sleep. At first it was not too bad but as the night set in it got colder and colder and began to rain. I was without an umbrella or any real cover so eventually I decided to walk around the city just to maintain some body heat. I ended up in the familiar streets of Kanda where I had stayed last July. I came across a small group of guys who lived in a tiny park and were moving their belongings to an under cover area across the street for the night. I spoke to them briefly before trying to find warm spot to sleep.

Initially I took shelter in a large phonebooth designed for handicapped users but it wasn't very ideal. I ended up finding an undercover corner on a quiet street and bought a heated drink from a vending machine to stuff under my clothes which worked rather well. I managed to fall asleep for a bit but woke up shivering not long after when the warmth from the drink had disappeared. I had not at all expected Japan to be this cold, it was nearly May afterall. I had no other option but to start walking again. Finally I decided to call it a night and found a net cafe to stay in until the morning.



Minolta X700 Rokkor-X 45mm f/2.0 : Ilford Panf 50