Wednesday, October 16, 2024

(3244) The narrow road to riches

Nihon_Arekore_03273_Nishi_Ginza_Oku_no_Hosomichi_100_cl

One of Ginza's institutions since 1960: a shop selling lottery tickets that is considered lucky because 521 people have become millionaires buying their tickets from there --usually it is very crowded but that day it was early and it hadn't fully opened yet. One detail that you will miss if you don't read Japanese are the signs that read "億の細道" ("oku no hosomichi") i.e. "the narrow road to 100.000.000": this is a pun on "The Narrow Road to the Deep North" by haiku poet Matsuo Basho which is also read "oku no hosomichi" but with different characters ("奥の細道").

(For a bigger version of this picture both in color and black and white, check my "Japan Arekore" set on Flickr).

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