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(My photo-set from one of the coolest alleys I have visited in Tokyo…)

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Tokyo - Piss Alley - Memory Lane - Shinjuku - Japan

Tokyo is a city that excels in transporting you from the present right into the glowing heart of the future. 

Most of its buildings are towering monuments of modernity constructed at what seems like a break-neck pace to house its ever-growing population.

And yet, if you search really hard, you can still find (slightly) hidden passages that reveal the Tokyo that rests in largely in the city’s memory. 

Nestled amongst the buildings of East Tokyo in Shinjuku is a series of alleys …

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…known by the names Piss Alley (小便横丁), Memory Lane (Omoide Yokocho (思い出横丁), or (more commonly) Yakitori Alley. 

My Blade Runner adoring heart could barely contain itself when I first turned the corner and entered this incredible area of Shinjuku. 

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The name Piss Alley is a reference to a time in its history when it (allegedly) was a popular spot for the shadier element to drink quite a bit. The urban legend (one of many) is that because it was such a popular drinking spot, people would relieve themselves in the alley itself. And so it was coined Piss Alley

In truth, you are not likely to find people relieving themselves in the alley in its present incarnation. 

But names seem to stick - especially names that conjure up colorful narratives.

What you will find are a fair amount of bars…

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And plenty of yakitori stalls which intimately seat only a few people at a time…

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If you are going to visit Tokyo, I highly recommend visiting during cherry blossom season.  

Nothing is more beautiful than seeing one of the largest cities in the world decked out in sakura blossoms…

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Alleys in large metropolises with colorful pasts, 

I love you. 

Forever, 

V.

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P.S. These are best viewed large. Click/tap each one to view larger at this link here:

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Taken last week in Tokyo where I was a guest of Sony (big thanks!).

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Can’t wait to eventually show you all the video footage I have of this location too. My first Tokyo video is going up early next week most likely on . Excited!

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My best-selling released in stores/online worldwide recently. Info about the book (including many photos, sample pages, and info about my history and style of photography):


View: , , My Travel Blog, On G+,


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Tokyo Skyline


Mount Fuji

coils across the landscape;

a frozen, sleeping dragon

dreaming the

day into night

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as the sun descends

like a fiery ember

on the exhaled breath

of the slumbering giant

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and dusk

extinguishes the sunset.

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Shadows dance

across Tokyo

when the sun slips away

for the night

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as the present 

pulses into the future;

arteries pumping

and flowing through

city streets like 

sanguine lava.

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And as the

city’s synaptic 

skyscrapers

reach up to 

the night sky,

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Tokyo dreams

itself into

existence.

Taken last week in Tokyo.

Big thanks to the hotel from Lost in Translation (the  in Shinjuku) who generously hosted me as a guest in Japan for the week and from whose windows I was able to take these photographs (more about that in an upcoming video - most of these were taken from my room). 

And a huge thanks to Sony for taking me to Tokyo as their guest and for one of the best travel experiences of my life so far. 

I talk a bit about it in two recent videos I put up over on my YouTube channel if you are curious:   and

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My best-selling released in stores/online worldwide recently. Info about the book (including many photos, sample pages, and info about my history and style of photography):



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sony:

We took a few of our favorite American creators to experience Tokyo through the lens of Sony.

Here, Vivienne Gucwa a.k.a. shows us her point of view as she walks around the Ginza district of Tokyo.



P.S. - Tokyo photos and lots of Tokyo videos coming this week and over the next few weeks! This is a sneak peek!!!