With its lotus-laden Shinobazu pond, park grounds, and national museums, the Ueno area in Tokyo draws millions of visitors a year. Nearby Higashi-Ueno (Eastern Ueno), however, seems to be another world altogether. When I exit Shin-Okachimachi station, under skies portending summer heat, this low-lying area seems half asleep.
Overhead, seagulls call and sunlight streams through quiet alleys bordered by humble two-story homes, some bolstered with corrugated metal, others sporting nanobalconies strung with morning laundry. Light catches on a macrame of telephone and electric wires, and the streets are nearly vacant.
Intrigued by a metronomic thumping coming from an open window, I peek inside to find 72-year-old Kazuo Yasukawa excising tiny donuts from pig leather with an old Horie die-cutting machine. "These are the backings for snaps on coin purses to be sold in New York," he says, proudly showing me photos of the flashy final products.