These are photos I took around May or June 2010 in the Motomachi area of Yokohama. It was the season from spring through early summer of my first year living here.
The first thing that surprised me about this town was the intensity of the sunlight. Perhaps it was because the sea was nearby. The sunlight was incredibly bright, and the boundary between light and shadow was sharply defined. The flowers lining the streets were vibrantly colored, and even the green of the leaves looked different than I’d seen before. From the potted plants placed here and there throughout the town to the ordinary plants in the alleys, everything seemed to assert its presence under the strong light.
As I walked down the street in Motomachi, long shadows stretched across the sidewalk, and motorcycles, a red mailbox, and flowers in front of the shops stood out against the stark contrast. I remember feeling, every time I pointed my camera, as if I were capturing light itself.
Fifteen or sixteen years have passed since then, and the townscape has changed quite a bit. The current Motomachi Union building was still under construction at the time, so they were operating out of a temporary location. A construction site for an apartment building now stretches out right where I can see it from my window, but when we first moved here, that spot was nothing but a parking lot. Even though it was only for a very short time, the view back then allowed you to see much farther into the distance than you can now.
The town gradually changed, and our lives—caught in the midst of that transformation—had, before we knew it, spanned a long period of time. The photographs capture more than just the old scenery of Motomachi. They also capture the fresh sense of wonder we felt when we first began living here, and even the early summer light we encountered for the very first time.
The nostalgic streetscape and the flowers and greenery so vivid they’re seared into my memory. These are photos taken about 15 years ago, documenting the early days of my life in Yokohama’s Motomachi neighborhood.
