Tofu vendor is on a mission
TOKYO — Akiko Sugaya wheels a cart through the alley-like streets of eastern Tokyo selling tofu, the protein-rich staple favored in much of Asia. But delivering soybean curd in all shapes and textures is only a small slice of her mission. And it’s just that. A mission. More than simply a vendor of healthy food, she’s also a social conduit who checks on elderly customers as she guides her pink cart, wearing a straw hat and tooting a small brass bugle to signal her arrival. She knows the habits of many of her customers like family, and they know hers. She’s lost some ...