Looking back through photographs from Japan earlier this year, I’ve gathered a few street scenes and quieter moments from Tokyo, Kyoto and Hakone.
In Shinjuku, I was drawn to the way people interacted with each other and their surroundings. Someone passing close to the camera, or an exchange beside a van. With the world’s busiest railway station nearby, there’s no shortage of people coming and going.
Shinobazu Pond offered a welcome breather from busy Ueno. Buildings were reflected in the water, with lotus leaves scattered across the surface. The pond has separate areas for lotus plants, boats and waterbirds; this photograph catches a quiet patch of it.
In Kyoto, a group of young men walked towards Nishiki Market, one pulling a suitcase along beside him. The market has a long history, helped along by the cold groundwater that traders once used to keep fish fresh, and a central location close to the Imperial Palace.
The carefully raked gravel at Kennin-ji felt quite different from the surrounding streets, busy with tourists. There was something absorbing about following those curved lines around the stones and patches of moss. It’s Kyoto’s oldest Zen temple, though the garden itself gave me plenty to look at without knowing its history.
Finally, a tangle of branches in the grounds of Sōun-ji, Hakone. The temple was founded in 1521 in memory of Hōjō Sōun, a local feudal lord. Here, the photograph stays with a smaller detail: branches crossing one another, with leaves and softer shapes behind them.
