Crowds and passers-by in Japanese cities

Street photography in Japan often swings between two extremes: huge crowds moving in perfect order, and single figures alone in a small pool of light. This gallery puts both side by side.

In Tokyo, the morning commute is a daily tide. The first photograph catches commuters crossing a sunlit street. The second shows the Shibuya crossing, where pedestrians flood across from every direction when the lights change, and yet rarely collide.

After dark the mood changes. Narrow alleys of small bars and restaurants light up with neon and paper lanterns. Here the most interesting frames are often the emptiest: a figure with an umbrella in an alley washed in red light, a silhouette passing beneath a row of red izakaya lanterns. The person is almost anonymous, a shape rather than a face, and the city becomes the main subject.

The final frame leaves people out entirely, showing one of these alleys of bars and lanterns at night, waiting for its evening crowd.

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Photos: marcellinusjerricho, mailtotobi, masashiwakui, 4601460, yoonason23 on Pixabay, used under the Pixabay Content License. These are not my photographs.