Tokyo Times

Photographs from a small group of islands

Photography

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Japanese festival colour and concentration

The ferocity of the summer sun has happily long since faded, but with it have also gone the vast majority of Japan’s festivals; traditional events that make the long, hot months far more bearable. Fortunately, however, there are still a few that come later, and while the heat may lack its former intensity, the colours and concentration on display most definitely don’t.

Japanese festival colour

As a side note, I have finally got round to producing a proper portfolio of my photography, so if you fancy a look, it’s here, at leechapman.photos.

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Tattooed Tokyo host

In Kabukicho, Tokyo’s infamous red light district, hosts are a common sight. Often distinctly attired young men, they entertain similarly young women in exchange for considerable financial rewards. A weirdly cyclical system that sees hostesses, and mostly other adult entertainment workers, use the money they have earned in their particular roles to subsidise hosts involved in exactly the same game. Namely the pretence of interest and affection paid for by cold hard cash.

Hosts like the ones below. Two likely lads, who, after a long night of indulgences and upfront deception, were simply hanging out on the street; the fella on the left as proud of his number 1 host status, as he was the tattoo covering his back.

Tokyo host tattoos

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Japanese eye contact and interaction

It’s often said that Japanese people aren’t overly fond of eye contact or interaction with strangers — a trait that’s supposedly even more pronounced when those strangers are of a foreign persuasion. But like most sweeping generalisations, it’s not entirely true.

Japanese eye contact