Ueno Izakayas

Call this accidentally good photography. We were in Ueno one night with Richard Robinson -- my local manager -- walking between restaurants, and I caught this picture. The taxi in motion in the front with a pack of Japanese salarymen in the rear... Throw in a healthy mix of bright lights, and you have Ueno.

This is a closest neighborhood to tough in Tokyo. If anything, it is distinctly working class whereas most other places feel middle class.

When alleys have entrances like this, you are sure to find a mix of izakayas and strip/massage/sex clubs. Richard is familiar enough with Ueno to help us navigate the madness. I have returned during daylight, unable to find these same restaurants again. To foreign eyes, each alley seems the same as the last.