Welcome to Tokyo

Take a ride on the local trains to discover the Japanese culture from the knees down.

This post is a collection of snap shots I took of people riding the trains in Tokyo back when I lived there. I decided to start this project when I found myself squeezing into crowded trains with all the millions of other Tokyoites. Since the person next to me was only a nose-hair away, to save any personal space, the most comfortable place to rest my eyes was down. This is when I began to notice all the different types of shoes and started to photograph them. After seeing my collection of photos I realized I had captured an everyday expression of a city from a different perspective. Ultimately you will see gestures, poses, styles, and tastes that document a moment in a Tokyo’s life and its’ culture. I’ve broken down each into little categories.

The Salary man

He is the Japanese businessman. He is trained from birth. He is the middle class. He works extremely long hours. He will go to work by train, work, work, work and then come home late by train and do it all over again the next day. He looks like all the rest. He wears a dark suit, white shirt, dark shoes, carries a briefcase and a long face. He is not a happy man. But he does what he knows he works. He is the honorable Japanese Salary Man. On occasion you will see some break out of the mold and grab a personality, which he expresses through his stylish choice of shoes.

School kids

Uniforms and more uniforms. The school kid uniform is just really quirky and often very skimpy. They wear matching hats, coats, shorts, knee-length socks, pants and plaid skirts. It’s all a bit different depending on the school, but still very unique to Japan. The schoolgirl mini skirts are super short and have become a sort of icon becoming a popular Halloween costume sold at some of the largest departments stores in Japan. The schoolboy shorts are shockingly tiny and the length doesn’t seem to change with the seasons. The school uniform to me is a preparation to the next working uniform, that of a Salary man or woman.

An average of 6.33-million people ride the subway each day. That’s 6.33-million pairs of shoes. And you can discover a lot about a person by their shoes.

Trainers

The trainer, sneaker, tennis shoe, running shoe, whatever you call it, it just works. It’s a universal shoe. It’s a perfect fit for Tokyo. This once simple sports lace up has become the versatile shoe with its’ many changes and variations. They are cool, chic, trendy, hip, sporty, comfortable and even elegant. The shoe fits whomever you are or want to be perceived as.

Fabulous Flats

Flats are not just flat. There are some pretty interesting and cool ones on the subway platforms. Even just the simple shoe stands out and screams Japan. Take note of the color usage, the tones and the materials. The urban hipster combines texture, color, and prints that you’d never think would go together, yet making it mesh perfectly. The ensemble is orchestrated with a style unique to this city- it’s flat out Tokyo.

Oba san and Oji san

Some of the coolest looking people in Tokyo are the elderly. They are the Oba san and Oji Sans. The Tokyo Oba san is the blue or purple-haired lady with a quirky choice of style and accessories. She is full of character and energy. The Oba san is boss. She is the boss of the bus, the trains, and the playgrounds. She will tell you how to care for your child, where to sit or who is next in line. Just smile and nod. You don’t want to get on her bad side. On the other hand, the Oji San, is a kind diplomat who has had to put up with his bossy companion for years. He’s mastered the art of nodding in agreement, even if he really doesn’t. He’s the big teddy bear that will make your child smile and he usually has some trick up his sleeve or a candy in his pocket.

High Heels

In Japan, where femininity is more powerful than feminism, the heel towers over. It’s also a place ruled by tradition where taking ones’ shoes off before entering a place of worship, a home, a restaurant and so on, is a must. Just follow along and take of your heels, just realize that before you put on your 4-inch pumps, at one point in the day, your true height will be revealed.

Boots

These boots were made for walking and there gonna walk all over the 274 station platforms of Tokyo. In a city where the subway map resembles a plate of soba noodles that’s hit the floor, you can’t be a wimp and you’d better be ready to walk. Cowboys by nature are explorers and with a metro system that sprawls over 5,200 miles, this urban cowboy has no limits. So put on your boots, grab your Pasmo card and enjoy the adventure.

Umbrella

I read somewhere that on an average rainy day there are over 3,200 umbrellas placed at the Tokyo lost and found. Without an umbrella in Tokyo you are pretty much guaranteed to get drenched. It’s not raining cats and dogs in Japan, it’s more like elelphants and hippos-it pours!,  . The most common umbrella is the clear, transparent kind and is one of the cheapest umbrellas at under 300 yen. Of course, it’s worth much more when you are caught in the rain. I wish I had bought tons of these because they aren’t available anywhere else in the world. It’s such a cool, simple, clear umbrella that symbolizes Japan.

I hope you have enjoyed the ride.