Can ところで be ambiguous (time vs. location)?


I was studying the usage of ところ with particles and came across the following
sentence and translation (linked at the bottom):

> 駅の近くでケーキを買ったところで彼女に偶然{ぐうぜん｝会った。
>
> I met her by chance when I just bought some cakes near the station.

The article does not explain it very well but from what I gather (from other
sources), ところで can be used to show **circumstances surrounding the main
clause**. So the sentence above could perhaps be more elaborately (and
robotically) understood as (please correct me if I'm wrong):

> "I met her by chance. It happened when I (was out buying/just bought) a cake
> near the station."

My first question is, **Is the translator's use of the word "just"
justified?** (Sorry, I couldn't resist the pun). I understand that 「～た形」＋ところ
shows that the action happened in the very recent past and is commonly
translated as "just" but is that meaning carried through when ところ is used as
above? Stated another way, does the sentence imply that I **just bought** the
cake (giving ところで a "time" nuance) or that I **was out buying** the cake
(giving ところで a "circumstance" nuance) ?

Second, if I had seen this sentence out of the context of the article, I would
have translated it:

> I met her by chance **at the place** by the station where I bought the cake.

Is this also a valid translation or is there a reason that this can't be
correct?

[Article source](http://maggiesensei.com/2015/09/02/how-to-use-
verb-%E3%81%A8%E3%81%93%E3%82%8D-tokoro/)




> 駅の近くでケーキを買っ **たところで** 彼女に偶然会った。

The sentence doesn't sound ambiguous to me. It means "I met her by chance
**right when** I **bought** a cake near the station."

According to 明鏡国語辞典:

> ところ【所(処)】〘名詞〙  
>  ⑥-㋒《「・・・(ようと)するところだ」「・・・ているところだ」「・・・(てしまっ) **たところだ**
> 」などの形で、現在または現在に近い過去を表す語を伴って》 **動作が** 、直前・最中・ **直後にある意を表す**
> 。「今手紙を書いているところだ」「書き終わっ **たところで** ベルが鳴った」

「～するところだ」「～ているところだ」「～たところだ」 indicate that an action is about to happen, is now
happening, or has just happened, respectively. So the ～たところで in your example
means "Right after (I) did~~" "Right when (I) did~~". For example:

  * [夢の中で] 食べ **たところで** 目が覚めた。  
[In a dream] Right when I ate, I woke up.

Compare:

  * 食べ **るところで** (≂ 食べようとしたところで) 目が覚めた。  
When I was about to eat, I woke up.

  * 食べ **ているところで** 目が覚めた。  
While I was eating, I woke up.

* * *

> I met her by chance **at the place** by the station where I bought the cake.

For the ところ to mean "place", you'd say:

> 駅の近く **の** ケーキを買ったところで彼女に偶然会った。

×「～の近く **で** ～した｛ところ・場所｝ **で** 」  
⇒ ○「～の近く **の** ～した｛ところ・場所｝ **で** 」(avoiding repeating the locative case で)

So, if the sentence was 「ケーキを買ったところで彼女に偶然会った」 without 「駅の近くで」, then it would
be ambiguous between "at the place I did..." and "right when I did..."




> 駅の近くでケーキを買っ **たところで** 彼女に偶然会った。

The sentence doesn't sound ambiguous to me. It means "I met her by chance
**right when** I **bought** a cake near the station."

According to 明鏡国語辞典:

> ところ【所(処)】〘名詞〙  
>  ⑥-㋒《「・・・(ようと)するところだ」「・・・ているところだ」「・・・(てしまっ) **たところだ**
> 」などの形で、現在または現在に近い過去を表す語を伴って》 **動作が** 、直前・最中・ **直後にある意を表す**
> 。「今手紙を書いているところだ」「書き終わっ **たところで** ベルが鳴った」

「～するところだ」「～ているところだ」「～たところだ」 indicate that an action is about to happen, is now
happening, or has just happened, respectively. So the ～たところで in your example
means "Right after (I) did~~" "Right when (I) did~~". For example:

  * [夢の中で] 食べ **たところで** 目が覚めた。  
[In a dream] Right when I ate, I woke up.

Compare:

  * 食べ **るところで** (≂ 食べようとしたところで) 目が覚めた。  
When I was about to eat, I woke up.

  * 食べ **ているところで** 目が覚めた。  
While I was eating, I woke up.

* * *

> I met her by chance **at the place** by the station where I bought the cake.

For the ところ to mean "place", you'd say:

> 駅の近く **の** ケーキを買ったところで彼女に偶然会った。

×「～の近く **で** ～した｛ところ・場所｝ **で** 」  
⇒ ○「～の近く **の** ～した｛ところ・場所｝ **で** 」(avoiding repeating the locative case で)

So, if the sentence was 「ケーキを買ったところで彼女に偶然会った」 without 「駅の近くで」, then it would
be ambiguous between "at the place I did..." and "right when I did..."

