One day at Kabukicho #DAY143 - The city after the rain and the memories that come back, and the back of the people.
I came to Kabukicho where the heavy rain had just stopped. As soon as I arrived, I felt the urge to go to bathroom and headed to Kabukicho Tower. And when I was going down the escalator, I casually looked up and wanted to take a photo of the scenery in front of me, so I took a photo and this is the one. I think that normally I should logically explain various things, but trying to explain something like this as "what good this is" is just plain uncouth.
直前までの大雨が上がった歌舞伎町にやってきた。到着してすぐにトイレに行きたくなってしまって歌舞伎町タワーへ。で、そのエスカレーターを降りている時にふと見上げたら目の前の景色が撮りたくなって撮ったのがこの写真。普段はいろいろなことをロジカルに説明すべきとは思うものの、こういうのを『どこのこれがいい』とか説明するのは野暮ってもんだ。
I had a sense of dé･jà vu when I was taking this panel, and now as I write this, I remember it. There was a time I got a design with the exact same motif for a project I was joinning. It was many years ago joinning that project.
このパネル、撮っていた時になんか既視感的なものを感じていたんだけど今これを書いていて思い出した。自分が昔携わった仕事でこの全く同じモチーフのデザインが上がってきたことがあったんだ。その仕事はもう何年も前のものなんだけどね。
The bars inside Kabukicho Tower like a large square, were filled with people from foreign countries. I wonder whether they're ones residing in Japan or they're tourists visiting Japan.
歌舞伎町タワーの中の大きな広場みたいになっている酒場は外国人でいっぱい。日本に居住している方々なのか、それとも訪日観光客の方々なのか。
A road sign located in front of TŌYOKO upon exiting the escalator at Kabukicho Tower. The faces of the adult and the child on the sign are something strange. If you can't see well, please try zooming the faces on the sign.
歌舞伎町タワーのエスカレーターを降りたところ、トー横にある道路標識。なんか大人と子供の二人の顔がえらいことになっている。よく見えないようなら標識の顔の部分を拡大してみてみてください。
People's back really tells their background and story... I wouldn't say it speaks eloquently, but it stirs up my imagination. Moreover, this back is completely different from the mass-produced boys and girls that fill this city.
背中ってホントその人物の背景とかストーリーを・・・雄弁に語るとまでは言わないけど、いろいろ想像力を掻き立てられる。しかもこの背中はこの街に溢れる量産型の男子や量産型の女子のモノとは全然違う。
I took this photo thinking that the shoes worn by the person standing on the left side looked nostalgic, they are NIKE's AIR MORE UPTEMPO. In a certain season during the late 1990s when the CHICAGO BULLS achieved a three-peat, I clearly and strongly remember Scottie Pippen wearing them.
これは左側に立っている人の履いている靴が懐かしい NIKE の AIR MORE UPTEMPO だよなぁって思って撮ったんだ。90年代後期の CHICAGO BULLS のスリーピート時のとあるシーズンに Scottie Pippen が履いていたのが強烈に記憶に残っている。
It's not the kind of restaurant where I can easily go to without thinking about the cost, but I still love Uoshin. I used to like sushi restaurant called Sushizanmai, but for the past couple of years, the prices have gone up, but the quality of the fishes has become questionable on the other side. And I also took another photo of a poster of this restaurant here on the other day. How much I love here.
そんなに気軽にポンポン行ける価格帯のお店ではないけど、魚心はやっぱり好き。すしざんまいも好きだったけど一昨年くらいから値段だけ上がってネタが微妙なコトが多くなっていたし・・・で、この前もお店の前でポスターを撮っていたし。どんだけ好きなんだ、自分。
Taken in front of the flower shop I usually pasees by. It was rare that there were the flowers set outside the shop, a street and they were beatiful, so I took a photo.
いつも通りがかる花屋さんの前にて。珍しく通りに花が出ていて綺麗だなーって思ったから撮った。
The last photo is the back view of people again. But the story imagined from the back of another person on the photo above is completely different. This is the back view of the so-called mass-produced people in Kabukicho. However, even though they are the type of mass-produced, I feel each one having its own story or narrative from the atmosphere when I was shooting. It's a shame that I myself can't take photos that can tell you that. That's because of my skill itself.
See you then.
最後の写真も人の後ろ姿。だけどやっぱり上に載せた別の人の後ろ姿とは背中から想像させられるストーリーが全然違うよな。こっちは所謂歌舞伎町の量産型な人々の後ろ姿。ただし量産型とは言えど、やっぱりそれぞれに物語やストーリーがあるのは撮っている時の空気感では感じる。それを写真から感じさせられるように残せないのが残念。
ほなまた。
