Sunday morning at Shinjuku University. A lot of young people wearing extravagant clothes and playing underground music. Tokyo is a surprising mixture of flavors and colors unthinkable for us. And these are the colors of Tokyo.
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At Yoyogi Park in Shibuya, young people’s quarter, it’s easy to bump into some cosplayers, people who like to disguise as their favorite characters.
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Is he a cosplayer or is he true?
Even though Japan likes to meticulously wrap up things and people, there is also a lot of freedom in dressing. Actually, this man is not a cosplayer...
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Shinjuku. Hidden among the forest of modern skyscrapers, there is an old alley full of tiny rusty restaurants, which come to life as soon as the night falls. |
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No matter how small they are, in every bakery or restaurant everything is cooked on place. It's a very tasty tradition which has not been yet sacrificed in the name of the strictest sanitary rules. |
Beyond the blades of a shabby fan in a kitchen, I find the glance of this woman, probably an immigrant. Why is she so sad? Any reason might be a mysterious story. But I will never know the answer.
Looking out of the window, like children do, because everything is new: skyscrapers, bridges, people and food. I’ve lived this way for one month. It's nearly like being born again. To bring home this glance is a little treasure.
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A quiet tea-time at 240 m of height, at the top of Mori Tower. It's one of the most spectacular and relaxing places in Tokyo. |
Traditional music and dances in Odaiba. These singers are waiting for the lights to be switched on, then they’ll start their performance.
In Yoyogi Park there are lot of young people enjoying their passions. There are rock bands, Elvis fans, karate players and elegant performers like this one.
Japanese people are paid for eight hours a day, but they end up staying at work much longer, in order not to be blamed. They often have to go out with colleagues and they get back home late at night. What’s left for their families?
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In Japan, the pace of life has no mercy. It's very easy to see people falling asleep everywhere, mainly in trains. |
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Women at work in a Buddhist temple on the Koya-san, one of the most sacred mountains of Japan.
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In Japan, at work, women are still discriminated. Even when loved by their husbands, they rarely see them, because men are never home. Many women suffer from depression and some girls fear that, by getting married, they will lose their freedom, which they may have tasted during a stay abroad. This beautiful fishwife, on the other hand, gave me a fresh and happy smile. |
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A little local train, in the Kansai region, takes me to destination on time. Every day, year after year, that hand holds that simple lever. I wonder what they think about each other. |
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Yokohama harbour. An amazing sunny day, I saw this old man opening his eyes wide for a long time, in a kind of ecstasy, apparently staring at nothing. Perhaps he was following a dream, or he was simply gazing at that precious blue sky. |
The beheading of a frozen tuna in the endless fish market of Tsukiji, in the Tokyo bay. In Japan, people eat fish every day and the huge tunny-massacre makes you lose any desire to glorify the excellent Japanese cuisine.
The fish market is probably the most frantic place in Tokyo. Everybody runs and you risk being run down by the fast electric trolleys. But there is also time to rest and talk calmly.
A fishmonger with a walrus expression draws up the accounts of the morning, a work normally done by women.
How lovely to meet happy, generous and hilarious glances. Lucky are this man’s little grandsons.
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Akihabara, the quarter of electronics and animation shops. This man can probably remember the American soldiers who occupied Japan until 1952. Who knows how many of them had a twisted mouth... |
In Japan children are more expected to take responsabilities, than protected. Who reads mangas know it well. After several efforts to stand up by herself, this little girl has been lifted by her mother's enthusiastic arms.
People in line, waiting for the train, which is always on time (and the entrance will be exactly in that point), while a middle-age man is reading a manga. It's a very banal scene in Japan, but an utopia in Italy. It could represent all the cultural and organizational problems which separate Italian from Japanese animation. Ironically, at the moment of this shot, all the local trains had a 15' delay, an extremely rare event.
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An old passage in Shinjuku. An aged presence sneaks away like a ghost, demanded or devoured by its business. |
Children in the grand district of Ginza. I agree with them: to wander around Tokyo looking up is great fun.