by aaron joel santos
I love Japan. I love the energy, the fashion, the music, the chaos, the order, the museums, the parks, the trains, the commitment to insanely specific personal tastes, the sushi, the ramen, the grilled meats on sticks, the cocktails, the sake, the little wooden boxes that seem to hold everything, the stores and shops, and almost everything else about this country. But mostly, I love the toilets (not pictured here). So it’s great to be back for a few days. For all of the above.
I’m off to Tokyo for a few days for a friend’s birthday. Very excited to get lost amidst the wires and alleys and skyscrapers and general chaos of the city. This photo is from a few years ago, in the Harajuku neighborhood. Just a simple street shot. This will be my fourth time to Japan and Tokyo and it never feels less exciting than the first.
I’m currently working in Tokyo, Japan, and had some free time to wander around the Shibuya crossing area with my Fuji X-Pro1. Nothing industry-shifting, just a few snapshots while I waited to meet up with friends for the night. I love the Fuji camera for carrying around when I’m traveling and not actively on assignment–light, lithe, and likely as not to get a good shot on the go. And it fits oh so well over your shoulder.
There’s really not much to say here. Just some photos from a recent trip to Japan. From the bawdy and hectic streets of Shinjuku in Tokyo and Dotonbori in Osaka, to the serene scenes and surroundings of Kyoto and Kinosaki. And a few things in between. It’s a dense country, and I feel like I’ve barely scratched its surface. If I could have stayed an extra two weeks, I would have. But there are other assignments that need shooting and other photos that need editing. So it will have to wait. Anyway. Enjoy.
I’m coming off the heels of a long trip that’s taken me to China, North Korea, the USA, and Japan, before finally bringing me back home to Vietnam. It’s difficult to process everything so soon after the fact. So for now, here’s a photograph from yesterday in Harajuku, Tokyo. Lots of pinks and people shopping. Just one of the myriad facets of life that I love in Japan.
Still going through my archives from this past year. I worked a lot. I traveled a lot. I took a lot of pictures. Some better than others. These few from Tokyo were passed over a few months ago when I first took them, but going through everything again, they stood out. Maybe not stood out for a portfolio, but certainly for a small blog post. I was obsessed with geometry and crowds in Japan. And with playing video games. I was only there for four days. Not nearly long enough.
These are the last few images from Japan for a while. It was a great trip and I can’t recommend a visit to Tokyo more enthusiastically. We stayed in a small hotel near Shibuya Station and the famous crossing. We drank sake in small dark bars and ate ramen out of vending machines and along long fluorescent-lit counters across the city. We tramped through the fashionable Takeshita Street in Harajuku District and the mammoth and fascinating fish market at Tsukiji, near the docks. We heard blisteringly-loud punk rock in a basement club in Shinjuku and joined the throngs of tourists at Sensoji Temple in Asakusa. We walked. And walked. And then walked some more. It was awesome. I’ll echo what I’ve been saying since I left. Go now.
