Japanese night streets and izakaya alleys

Japanese cities change character after dark. Office districts empty out, and life moves into narrow side streets packed with small bars and eateries, many of them seating only a handful of people.

The most familiar of these places is the izakaya, a casual pub where people order drinks and a series of small shared dishes. A red paper lantern, an akachōchin, hanging by the door is the traditional sign of an inexpensive place to drink. In many cities, clusters of such places form yokochō, alley districts often found near railway stations, where tiny counters sit shoulder to shoulder under low roofs.

Above street level, the signs take over. Vertical neon and lit panels stack up the sides of buildings, each advertising a bar, restaurant or karaoke room on a different floor. On rainy nights the colours spill onto wet pavement and umbrellas, one reason these streets are so popular with photographers.

The frames here move from a lantern-lined alley of bars to red izakaya lanterns, neon stacked along a narrow street and a lone figure with an umbrella, then out to paper lanterns and reflections in the rain.

---

Photos: yoonason23, 4601460, binmassam, masashiwakui on Pixabay, used under the Pixabay Content License. These are not my photographs.