Truck

Part 3: Visions of Japan by Shomei Tomatsu

Part 4: Tokyo on Foot by Florent Chavouet

Okay, I'll mix things up now by including a book that isn't even about photography. Tokyo on Foot is the sketchbook of a graphic artist who came to live in Tokyo for six months with his girlfriend who was interning at a company here. Everyday while his girlfriend went to work, Chavouet wandered round pencil and paper in hand photographing drawing and explaining his experiences of the city.

What makes this book special for me, and the reason I have included it in a list of photobooks, is Chavouet's keen eye for all the small things, the Homer Simpson "It's only funny because it's true" kind of things. Drawn and annotated with an honest humor, we are shown Tokyo's everyday goings on. All the usual characters are there--the J-girl, the salaryman, the koban cop--but there is also the supporting cast--the men with the red sticks, the delivery guy running along with one tiny box on his trolley, and the ramen shop owner.

Where the book really excels, however, is with the smaller things: the water towers on the top of buildings; the street corners with green payphones, a traffic cone, and a bicycle; the washing poles with the blue, square hangers with all the pegs. Every time I open the book I'm amazed that Chavouet was able to realize all these things in only six months. It's taken me years!

Tokyo on Foot is a great insight into everyday life in Japan's capital, and even though it is not a photobook, it is still one the best "street" books I have in my collection.

Part 5: The Cruel Radiance by Susie Linfield