I first set foot in Japan in 2007 and I was immediately swept away by a seemingly endless metropolis packed with hidden lanes, decrepit corridors, and a patina of decay splashed with vivid neon light. I know I romanticize it. That can’t be helped—Tokyo is a romantic place! Rationally, I can understand that I may be looking at past Tokyo through rose-tinted glasses, and my early experiences of it are most likely exaggerated in my memories. But I also know Tokyo has changed losing so much of its charm in the process, and I have photographic evidence to prove it.
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Deep into the Night
Recently, I had the chance to work with Samuel L. Streetlife on a video during which we shot around Ueno station one rainy evening in Tokyo. It was super fun to create this film with him and I'm quite happy with how it turned out! It gives a glimpse into the way I photograph and the places I frequent. Check it out!
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A Tokyo Origin Story
Neon light bathes the rooftop in a red shimmer, the dinge of machinery and ductwork set ablaze against the grey night. The sign glows in the distance, a circle of crimson neon surrounding a single burning character: 源 — ‘gen’ … ‘origin.’ I stare at the glyph, gently flickering against the neo-gothic façade of its building, casting hues of pink and vermillion on nearby structures, and think back to my origin. How did I get here, on top of this rooftop, one like any other, amidst the concrete forest of Ginza?
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A Journey on the Rooftops of Tokyo
What drives me up the stairs—ten eleven twelve flights at a time—is curiosity. I harbor a desire to discover unusual beauty in a chaotic urban landscape. To me, the rooftops are the ‘final frontier’ in Tokyo. The streets are crawling with photographers, but few venture off the ground and into the concrete canopy—but I want to see what I can create up there. The lights and vibrations of the rooftops weave images in my mind—images which I can call my own. Obtaining a unique perspective in photography is like finding a pearl in a sea of glass beads. The chance to glimpse uncommon sights is intoxicating. It is this pursuit of a narrative individual to myself which keeps me coming back. On the roofs, I find my own voice.
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The Hidden Valleys of Ginza
I found myself crouching in a puddle of water and grease, hunkered down in the dim twilight of a narrow crevasse in the canyons of Ginza. The afternoon sunlight was a distant dream ten stories above trickling down along dust-caked walls. The aroma of trash permeated the air, a rat scurried past and entered a crack in the pavement as if absorbed. But I ignored all this and focused on what brought me to such an unpleasant place—the photography.
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