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My first morning in Tokyo was all I could ever ask for during this last trip. Beautiful light. A weekday. People getting up early and starting their day, commuting to and from work. The way a city wakes up and begins speaks a lot about its residents; the way it breathes. The pulse of Tokyo is a rapid one; its heart-rate increases and never slows down. During my first day there I became this very commuter, embedding myself in the workforce just to get a feel of what it would be like and to reacquire my bearings. It started in Shinjuku, to Ginza, to Ueno and back. I did a full loop on the JR Yamanote line which encircles the majority of the city.
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Tags: 2010, Ginza, James Ryang, Japan, JR, Portraits, Shinjuku, Station, Tokyo, Ueno, Yamanote Line
Trains and more people. The best okonomiyaki in all of Osaka I propose is at Kuro-chan, where each one is made by a famous master of the dish. DiFara’s is to pizza as Kuro-chan is to okonomiyaki. He and his family run this complete hole in the wall with some photos of him from television appearances in the 80’s. My cousin Chia ate two. How? I do not know. She’s tiny. Anyway, Osaka is an okonomiyaki town. Email me if you want directions. It’s pretty hard to explain. The whole time I was thee I could only think about my friend Ari and how he needs to go there.
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Tags: best okonomiyaki in Osaka, Chia, James Ryang, Japan, JR, Kuro-chan, master chef, okonomiyaki, Osaka, Photography, Portraits, trains
Nights in Osaka are amazing to see. Most young people hang out around Namba. A long arched promenade stretches for multiple city blocks leading up to the Osaka canal where the buildings are lit up in neon. Around Namba, food stalls are hidden away in dark alleys and arcades stay open really late. After the sun goes down, the city really lights up electric and people head out. The “cutie” photo booth to me is a phenomenon. I understand that it’s a way for people to keep memories after a night out together but the “cute” photo booths in the arcades are more like Adobe Photoshop / Illustrator. You have to go through like 30 steps of design and retouching before your photos will print. Nuts. Oh yeah, everyone stares at their cellphones constantly. Worse than here.
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Tags: 2010, Arcades, Bikes, counting cute, cute, cutie, dining, eating, James Ryang, Japan, JR, Namba, Osaka, Osaka4, photo booth, Photography, Promenade, train
Riding the subway in Japan never gets old. Its efficiency is astounding. Also, very recently, women have been given their own designated train cars to prevent sexual harassment in the trains. It’s a very Japanese solution to a problem: finite and direct. Osaka is one of my favorite cities in the world. It is a huge, frenetic city but in the quieter moments it can get very peaceful, comparatively. Even in a pachinko parlor or a JR station. This is an assortment of portraits above ground and below, inside spaces and out. This is the hospital where my grandmother had been. Seeing pictures of it now gives it some kind of new significance, I guess, our last meeting place. Also, a portrait of my dad which I’d never really done until now. This is where he grew up. Also, more things with faces on them i.e. food packaging.
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Tags: 2010, bicycles, Chuo-ku, Hong-Son Ryang, hospital, James Ryang, Japan, JR, Osaka, pachinko, Photography, Portraits, quiet moments in a hectic city, sexual harassment, subway, Tamatsukuri, train
These images are from my first day in Osaka during this last trip. Osaka is an amazing town. It’s also where most of the good bands come from. It is also a bicycle city. Everyone, from children to senior citizens, has a bike; and nobody locks them up. It’s incredible. Two days ago, my grandmother passed away here, and Osaka was her hometown. As it is my father’s. This series is dedicated to my grandmother who gave me my first camera and taught me how to ride a bike among other things.
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Tags: 2010, Appa, Bicycle, Canal, Chia, flag, grocery store, Halmoni, Hong-Son Ryang, James Ryang, Japan, JR, Mall, Osaka, Photography, Reportage, shabu-shabu, subway, Travel
