Nodogawa Nobody
Tokyo is one of the most populous cities in the World. Every day it throbs to the footsteps of some 40 million people. Photographing it bereft of bodies is an unenviable task, but that is what Masataka Nakano has done in his book, Tokyo Nobody.
Where I currently live has a slightly smaller population than Tokyo. It is not uncommon to walk a lonely road here. Rush hour here sees a posse of hunchbacked old women scurrying toward the supermarket, or a gaggle of giggling school girls riding bikes and emailing on their mobiles - a megatropolis this is not. There is something refreshing about this.
Coming from London there were very few times when I could walk the streets in solitude. Before Japan I was working journalistic night shifts. At 5am when I was heading to my bed the city was waking up. While the city streets were quiet, they were seldom empty.
The occasional post alcohol binge night bus slumber afforded some memorably sparse views of famous London landmarks. Sadly I did not have a camera with me at those times other wise I could have shared them. Apologies.
