Hi Ben, can you tell us a little about your background and how you became a travel photographer?
I’m from the UK and my background is originally in graphic design. I’ve always been passionate about design and photography but decided to study graphic design at university, always with a view to working with photographers, whether it be designing exhibitions or magazines. When I was working at various agencies as a designer, art direction was a big part of my role, so I was always really close to the photography world. I was designing in-flight magazines too, which exposed me to the travel and hospitality worlds. After six or seven years working as a designer and travelling to various parts of the world, commissioning photoshoots, I decided to take the plunge and really commit to the photography side of my work, and that involved leaving my comfortable design job in London and moving to Tokyo in 2019.
My partner and I had visited Tokyo just once before but we were both ready for a change and decided to give it a go. In London, I was working at Winkreative and Monocle, which both have a really strong Japanese influence, and a lot of Japanese clients. I worked with Japanese designers, brands and fashion labels, all of which were a really big inspiration for my work. But still, I felt like Japan was the great unknown, so when I got there, everything just started to make sense. I really wanted to delve a lot deeper into the culture, and so we decided to move out there.
A lot of people say it is quite difficult for foreigners to integrate in Japan. Did you find that? What were the big challenges that you found when you first moved?
My route into Japan was a little unconventional in the sense that I had always wanted to work for myself, so I quickly met a lot of non-Japanese people working in the creative industries within Tokyo. That community was tight-knit but keen to introduce me to new people and work together on things, so connections quickly snowballed. I can understand why people say it’s a difficult place to integrate into, but probably no different to any other country that’s on the other side of the world. I would love to one day teach people how I took my journey so that they can do the same.
You’re a big architecture fan. Japan must kind of spoil you for incredible buildings. What are some of your favourite places?
There are more registered architects per capita in Japan than anywhere else in the world. Architecture is such a big part of the culture, and that can be traditional, it can be modern, sometimes really quirky. Even residential places in Tokyo are just so amazing. If you think of my interests like a Venn diagram, there are three circles: travel, architecture and design. The thing that connects them all is hotels, and so that’s what became my treasure hunt. I found myself travelling all over Japan encountering these incredible hotels, places like Shiroiya Hotel, designed by Sou Fujimoto. Which is just so different to anything you have ever seen before. It’s an old converted ryokan building, and rather than take the original structure down, they’ve basically just gutted the inside and kept the exposed skeleton, building the hotel around it. There’s another hotel which I love called KAI Poroto – it’s an onsen ryokan built along the shore of Lake Poroto in Shiraoi-cho, Hokkaido. Designed by NAP Architects, it’s inspired by indigenous Ainu huts from which you can walk straight into the hot springs.
You’re away travelling at the moment. What are some of the things you find you’re missing most about life in Tokyo?
Things just work there! Everything just slots together so well. How the streets are connected, the train system, the convenience of having one of the world’s best coffee shops a five-minute walk from my apartment. And that’s something that I definitely take for granted – the quality of things in Japan is just insane.
I don’t think there’s another culture that quite obsesses over details like the Japanese do, whether it’s denim or button-down, I mean clothing wise. They just take the minutia and just explode it to a different level, don’t they?
One hundred per cent. And people really dedicate their lives to their craft. They’ll decide that they’re going to pursue bamboo weaving, or kimono dyeing, for example, and do it for the next 60 years.
You’ve recently published your first book, Views from Japan, which is such an amazing resource. What got you thinking about publishing it and how was the process of completing it?
Over the past five years living in Japan, I have travelled extensively across 30 prefectures, and built a client base across leading tourism boards, international magazines, luxury hotels and more. I have always shared my work via Instagram, my newsletter and blog, and saw people really gravitated towards seeing new and unique sides of Japan. On top of that, I found in reality that so many people flock to the same overcrowded destinations, causing over-tourism and often doing more harm than good to certain areas.
The idea for the book came about after seeing how many destinations, traditions and activities I had experienced across my time in Japan and it felt like the right time to share that in a book format. It would have been much easier to produce a simple photo book, but for me that doesn’t provide any value to anyone – it doesn’t solve a problem.
My main goal for Views from Japan is for it to really become a bible for people wanting to experience a more unique side to the country – one where locals go about their everyday life surrounded by active volcanoes, or where you can find world-class design and hospitality in remote areas. I share absolutely everything I have learned in the book.
As I’m sure you can imagine, the process has been painstaking, and a lot of blood, sweat and tears have gone into the writing, design and production of the finished piece. But it really is a full-circle moment for me as I combine all of my skills and passions for photography, design, writing and travelling across Japan.
Where in Japan are you heading next?
I’m really hoping to get up to Yamagata soon, which is in Tohoku region of Honshu, quite far north of Tokyo. I’m also planning a couple of trips to visit some artisans across different areas in the northern regions. I’ve really become passionate about finding these specialist craftspeople, from a photographic and story-telling perspective.
How is it getting around the country?
The main cities are very easy, but the countryside is a lot more difficult, and I think this is why people go to the same places, because they are typically accessible by bullet train. I’ll often get the Shinkansen half way and then rent a car and drive through the countryside. If you’re there for a two-week trip, you want to make the most of your time so I totally understand that time plays a factor, but if you can step off the tourist trail, you’ll really enjoy what you find. The other thing is that Japan is so varied. You can be doing boat trips among the islands in the south on a Monday, with white-sand beaches and glorious sun, and then by Thursday you could be skiing in the mountains in the north. That’s Japan in a nutshell. I really just want to encourage people to experience more of the country.
Ben Richards’ book, Views from Japan is available to pre-order here
