PHOTO JOURNAL / FIRST QUARTER 2024 RECAP
The first few months of the year ripped by, and with the cherry blossoms peaked and on their way out, it’s time to reflect and archive.
Here are 12 photos to walk you through the first part of my year:
After a few years in a row of being gone for the holidays, I went back to Pennsylvania to be with family for Christmas. I was in Somerset most of the trip, but spent New Year’s Eve in Pittsburgh with some good friends. The next day, I bounced around the city to try and bottle up the magic of a quiet, snowy January 1st.
After returning back to Japan a few days into the new year, I ventured around on my bike to document these pieces called shimekazari that people hang on their homes and businesses for good luck. I’m instinctively drawn to shooting things like this that give a place its identity.
Inspired by the season, I designed up a little astrology print for my fellow Aquarians. The photo featured is from an evening jaunt pretty early in my time here in Osaka. I was, and still am, enamored with the constant treasures that the city offers.
In town from Chicago, I couldn’t miss Ratboys and their wonderful hook-filled, folk-infused indie-rock songs.
It’s my first time living somewhere with a train system, and a robust one at that. I know it won’t last forever, so I’m mindful of the blessing it is. On the elevated lines, looking out at the world, it always feels like being in a movie.
I got to see Pikomaruko, one of my favorite Osaka artists, perform again at a legendary local venue called Namba Bears. She crushed the packed room with her one-of-a-kind freakout music.
I spend huge chunks of time walking and riding my bike- an all-at-once gateway for exploring, connecting with my body, getting ideas, working through decisions, and blowing off steam. Additionally it’s a vital part of my creative process when working on songs. This track is an example of something that was pieced together this way. Write, move body, edit, move, and repeat.
This is one of the many bridges I often pass over when venturing around the city.
Kissatens, or old-school coffee houses, are portals into past decades. These wistful spaces can serve many purposes. A place to organize your thoughts. To rest. To send some overdue messages. Work out song lyrics. Or simply just somewhere to exist outside of your apartment.
The Pollux Theatre, a music venue in the iconic Nipponbashi neighborhood, is a gem of Osaka. The live house is dedicated exclusively to kawaii anime-pop artists, a truly bizarre and fascinating genre/subculture of Japan.
One of the best things about living in Japan is the access to sentos. Nothing revives your mind, body, and spirit like an hour bouncing between the sauna and cold and hot baths. Here is some golden hour light shining into the locker room.
I came across this amazing waterside shrine on the way back home after a Sunday morning venture down to Nagai Park. Always mystical energy awaiting inside the (torii) gates.
I wanted to welcome spring with a little venture out to the countryside. So, after taking a buddy’s recommendation, I decided on Hasedera, a spectacular cluster of shrines and temples tucked in a rural Nara mountainside.
There it is.
2024 first quarter in the books.
-Andy
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