Well into her 80s, this woman continues to open her bar in Higashimurayama, in Tokyo’s western suburbs. There’s no longer food on the menu, but the drinks still flow

Now 83, the owner of this bar in Nerima city left his native Kyushu at the age of 14 to train and work as a French chef in Sapporo and Tokyo. Eventually tiring of working for others, he opened this little bar 39 years ago. Last year he closed for a few months because of heart problems, but now he’s back behind the counter six nights a week

This 93-year-old opened her bar with her husband 60 years ago. Now alone, she still opens the bar most nights. Out in Okutama, in the far west of Tokyo, she had been displaced as a youngster when her village had to make way for a new reservoir, but she stayed in the area. If it’s quiet she closes the bar, and if not she’s more than happy to serve whoever comes in, all the while sipping sake and listening to the radio

This sushi chef opened his restaurant in Adachi city 60 years ago. His son now does most of the work, but he still helps out with preparation and serving drinks

In a quiet area of Nakano, this fishmongers has been open since 1935, according to the current owner, who is continuing the family business

This traditional shoemakers in Asakusa opened in the 1930s, and this man is the grandson of the original owner. But he will be the last in line, so when he retires, the business will stop with him

In Amikane, Tsukiji, near the old fish market, this tiny coffee shop only opens twice a week. And then it’s only from 7am to about 9am. But the owner, who is almost 90, says that’s more than enough

Another coffee shop owner in her late 80s. Her cafe in Ogikubo opens most days. It’s on two floors, and she runs it alone, meaning she is up and down the steep stairs all day long.

Pickled Japanese vegetables made daily the traditional way, in an old Tokyo shopping street in Minowa

At 92, this woman runs her children’s sweet and toy shop in Hikifune just as she has for 50 years. It keeps her young, she says, and having her husband there to pitch in now and again helps as well

This 82-year-old woman has run her little bar in Nerima city for 40 years

A truly tiny shop in Akihabara, an electronics area that has changed enormously – though not this little part of it

In business for 50 years in Shinjuku, the owner, now 74, opens six days a week for eight hours a day, seemingly spending the whole time laughing

With his original shop in Komagome closed down and emptied out, this owner now sells yakitori (skewered chicken) outside

Most elderly Japanese people still in work seem happy about it, but this man in Ueno, holding up a sign, didn’t look overjoyed

In his small restaurant in Itabashi, this man has been working behind the same counter, six days a week, for the last 46 years. He said if he could he’d go on for another 46

Another tiny but surprisingly well-stocked shop in Akihabara

Women travelling into Tokyo from the countryside to sell their produce was a common sight many years ago, but nowadays it’s rare, and this woman in Ueno must be one of the last of her kind