Photo essay by Brooks Plummer

The experience of exploring Japan begins with, and is enhanced by, values inherent to its culture. Respect - for oneself, for others, for work, and for public spaces (both natural and urban) - is taught from a young age, and is a central tenet of Japanese society. For a traveler, this translates to extremely efficient public transportation, helpful, hospitable locals, inspired businesses, and a general sense of security. It allows you to let your guard down and open yourself to connection and inspiration.

For me, I found it everywhere I looked. Unburdened by the usual travel anxieties, I noticed things I wouldn’t normally have seen; colours, shapes, lines, shadows and moments all began to take on new meaning. I felt present, attuned to myself and where I was, in a way I had never really experienced before. As I quickly learned, if you travel with respect and an open mind, Japan will reveal itself to you in new and exciting ways.

Equipped with my dad’s old Nikon FG and a zip-lock bagful of the cheap stuff - Kodak UltraMax 400 - I enjoyed being able to capture my experiences in Japan without being consumed by process. With a digital camera it can be easy to shoot frame after frame after frame of the same scene, chasing some elusive ‘perfect shot’. To do so in Japan is to miss the point entirely – which is to slow down, open up, exist in the present, take it all in, breathe.

The perceived limitations of shooting film actually allowed me to listen to both my instincts and my environment, bringing into focus moments I may have otherwise missed: shiny silver fish drying on a line by a seaside oyster shack in Fukuyoshi, brightly coloured sashimi samples wrapped in plastic at a kitchen supply store in the Kappabashi district, the morning light pouring in through traditional shoji screens at a Niigata guest house, a cat basking in the sun on a windowsill in Matsumoto, a noodle shop display case illuminating a late-night stroll through the streets of Tokyo. It is these moments I remember most fondly when thinking back on that trip now - the Japan I discovered when I allowed myself to stop worrying about logistics, and to start focusing, pun intended, on the moment.