Portrait of our life in Japan (one shot at a time)

A good friend recently requested a snapshot portrait of our lives in Japan. Little by little I hope to respond to the request.
One thing that is charming to me about Asia is the "Ma and Pa" shops. I'd much rather spend a little more money to support a little neighborhood bakery staffed only by a hard-working couple in their fifties or sixties than buy bread at a conventional grocery store. My heart goes out to these people that work all day at these little stores on the first floor of their home and seemingly barely make enough to stay afloat. It seems like they're just breaking even. My wife tells me I have a good heart but that I need to earn more money before I make this stand. When Vyda or I walk Arielle to her kindergarten in the morning we pass a strip of little Ma and Pa shops down the streets preparing to open for another day. Whether I ride my bike down this street in the morning, afternoon, or night I don't have much success playing the "I spy a customer game." In both Japan and Korea, especially Korea, age 65 doesn't seem to have a special meaning for most people. My wife and I always feel bad for old grandmas and grandpas sitting in a lonely, little shop, or on the streets, hoping to sell a little fruit, or for grandpas that drive a taxi all day for a meager wage.
When I was in Korea, sometimes people would illegally get on the subway and peddle dollar products with all the enthusiasm and conviction they could muster. I always admired them trying to make money probably one of the few, if only, ways they could and didn't mind paying a dollar or two from to time for the low-quality products they were selling just so they didn't feel like they were selling their dignity in vain.