Why Japan Keeps Calling Me Back
There are places that stay with you long after you leave. For me, that place is Japan.
It’s hard to explain exactly when the fascination started. I was always immersed in Japanese culture, my childhood best friend is Japanese and so I spent a lot of time with his family. I grew up in the manga and anime boom era in the 90s, Dragon Ball and then later Pokémon, maybe that played a role into that. But it’s the wider culture and philosophy of living that always fascinated me.
As a photographer, I’m always chasing emotion, not just what something looks like, but how it feels. And Japan is full of feelings. Stillness. Transience. Precision. Beauty.
It is a country that seems designed with the photographer in mind and not because it tries to be, but because it simply is. It offers a rhythm, a mood, and a visual language that quietly draws you in.
Here is a selection of my favourite shots from my last 2 trips.
