It¡¯s a little past 3 p.m. on Tuesday, two days after the closing ceremony of the Olympics. It¡¯s scorching in Tokyo, the temperature hovering near 35 degrees Celsius.
In Ueno, a bustling working-class area in the northeastern part of the city, pedestrians sweating through their shirts are making their way down the district¡¯s crowded alleys lined with numerous izakaya pubs.
Despite Tokyo being under a state of emergency ¡ª during which restaurants and bars serving alcohol are asked to close ¡ª many joints are open, and customers can be seen downing ice-cold mugs of draft beer and chomping on yakitori skewers.
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