Photography

For a while now I’ve mostly been posting small sets of photographs as it’s often easier to try and tell stories, or at the very least hint at them, over a short series rather than just a single image.

This photo, however, feels different. It doesn’t really tell a story either. Instead, it seems to perfectly sum up the sometimes extraordinary nature of what is merely the ordinary. A man walking home through a Tokyo suburb is about as unremarkable as it gets, and yet the scene that presented itself felt, for me at least, quite the opposite.

Discovering this old Tokyo tobacconist 18 months or so ago was a real treat, as turning a fairly nondescript corner complete with an empty plot, the wonderfully ramshackle structure that came into view was a genuine surprise. So unexpected in fact, that after taking some photos I was still so enamoured by it that I completely forgot to mark the location.

Fast forward to fairly recently and I tried to find it once again, but nothing appeared quite right when looking at maps online. Also, any spot that did seem even remotely possible proved the complete opposite when checked on street view.

The only option then was to go back to the area where I thought it was and explore properly. An approach that proved similarly unsuccessful, so as darkness fell, a friend and I gave up and headed for a few consolation beers. On the way there, and absolutely not where I thought the tobacconist was, we stumbled upon a little car park with a rare camera and screen combo. A set-up that caused us to briefly stop for a look. And, when standing there, noticing it was a new house on the corner, there was both relief and the awful realisation that I was actually in the exact spot where the tobacconist once stood.