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I lived in Tokyo for ten years from 2001 to 2011. Shortly after the Dotcom crash, I moved there to pursue my first Japan-based design job. I raised a family there and lived in the suburbs. For me, this sprawling city actually feels small, with all the familiar places and faces. But not being Japanese myself, there’s also a strangeness in the culture and language that I know yet don’t completely understand. I speak the language but not perfectly, I know the customs but not as someone raised there. It’s as if I wasn’t connected to a part of my body. These photos chronicle my return to Tokyo during the pandemic in spring 2022. I walked the city with my camera and around every corner, I had familiar yet strange encounters.
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![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/d69720e3-326f-4cd5-be4c-6884bda66bec/0/0/0/0,0,2000,1500,400,1500/0-0-0/f0f75617-9ae2-4c42-b635-0a8bc866e95f/1/1/Tree-and-chandeliers-2.jpeg?fjkss=exp=2037490314~hmac=519a15023ded6fbf116a9f5baf883963ba07b35e43488af1c6afc67344adb5e6)
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![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/d69720e3-326f-4cd5-be4c-6884bda66bec/0/0/0/0,0,2048,1389,400,1389/0-0-0/ddaad6fe-838f-4b2e-976f-8c3ddd50d177/1/1/Blue-blob.jpeg?fjkss=exp=2037490314~hmac=d6351b79ed3420edf4bb6f839764664f1672dea20a9f92d5f35c4fc833600e87)
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/d69720e3-326f-4cd5-be4c-6884bda66bec/0/0/0/0,0,2048,1536,400,1536/0-0-0/249df964-978b-40c2-9b77-8df3d8bed963/1/1/Trees-and-chandeliers.jpeg?fjkss=exp=2037490314~hmac=3c175fe4b6007ce698618c08b3d89588a7ffca30938878e78f75649d8951aabe)
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