This photo is from a point near the Uehara station in Tokyo. I took it because I keep hearing false voices in my head, the false voices of people who don't understand business, who say that a big business will drive a little business out of business.
I've already proved that this is nonsense in an earlier blog. Starbucks came into San Francisco, dramatically increased the number of competing coffee shops in the whole city and raised the quality of the coffee business.
In the foreground of the photo is a small book store that specializes in science fiction, exotic foreign titles and children's books (Los Papelotes). It is a very adaptive book store that is personable and warm. It is much loved by the neighborhood.
The bookstore in the background, 50 yards away, (the tiny blue sign under the railway tracks) is a major national chain. Both are surviving well despite Internet competition that impacts both. Japanese are the most hardcore book readers in the world (maybe Israel is in the same league). These book stores have been here for the 15 years I've been watching them. Proximity helps.