Old and squeezed Tokyo houses

Hey Friends,

If you have yet to visit to Japan, you might think of it as futuristic, or as a place of beautiful traditions.

The reality is somewhere in the middle. Japanese culture can be resistant to change (some companies are still trying to get rid of floppy disks and fax machines), but there is one domain where it is embracing novelty: architecture.

I remember hearing a French architect say he came to Japan because he felt like architecture was free of conventions here. It has been my experience too, I haven't seen Paris change much in the couple years I lived there. My Japanese neighborhood has never been without at least one construction site. New shops have been popping up every month or so.

And yet in the middle of this construction frenzy, some old shops stand proudly, squeezed between new buildings. I noticed them more and more in my neighborhood and started documenting them.

Until next time,

Take care!

Grégoire