Street Photography
Daily Life Scenes
Retro
What’s the Story?
Tokyo is a huge metropolis with all kinds of locales, from sleek streets lined with avant-garde architecture to gritty red-light districts bathed in neon light. But where is Tokyo’s soul? One might say it resides where the regular people have been getting together and going about their lives and business for decades. That’s what we will discover together on this photo adventure.
What We’ll Shoot
We will shoot street photographs of people and places that are emblematic of daily life in Tokyo. We will focus on the east side of town, which is older, draped in the patina of time. We’ll spend much of our search for Tokyo’s soul in the heart of the Shitamachi, or ‘low city’, where the gentry of the olden days, the merchants and the artisans, lived and plied their trade. Today these are bustling neighborhoods away from the famous tourist spots.
Where We’ll Explore
We will begin our search for Tokyo’s soul in Shimbashi, a district known for its after-hours nightlife—a haven for salarymen and office ladies tucked between major office districts. During the day the revelers are absent, but in their place we will find cooks, couriers, and other street denizens going about their daily work. We will also head to Ueno and explore the chaotic and colorful Ameyoko market running along and underneath the girders of the overheard railway, shooting scenes of real life to the cacophony of passing trains.
Featured Reviews
Excellent workshop with a seasoned photographer. I found this workshop to be the best way to see Tokyo by night from the eyes of a talented photographer. The workshop included an educational/learning component followed by implementation at locations that I would never have found by myself.
This was my third photo tour with EYExplore and as always, it was outstanding! This was my first private tour, and obviously a private tour is fantastic because individual requests can be accommodated — but my previous two group tours were also incredible (thus the repeat business).
Charles helped me to compose some really cool shots in fun locations around the city that I would otherwise not have known about — and even though this trip I brought only my iPhone (rather than my mirrorless camera which I had used on previous tours) I still got some GREAT shots and learned a lot! My husband came with us even though he really has no interest in photography, but he enjoyed the locations and had a great time as well. And Charles is just a wonderful resource for all things Japan!
William –
Your “Tokyo Soul” street photography tour was the coolest day of photography shooting I have ever experienced. So many hands on tips that improved my enjoyment of my camera greatly. Can’t hardly wait to come back for another session.
Max –
I did 2 workshops with Lukasz from EYExplore, the Tokyo Soul and the Tokyo Omakase workshops. Both were amazing. Lukasz is a very easygoing guide and teacher who just really knows his stuff. We toured both at night and during the day which gave me 2 perfect sessions learning lots of different stuff. I highly recommend these workshops to anyone wanting to improve their skills. I really got a lot out of it. It doesn’t matter if you’re a pro or a beginner, everyone can learn something here. I will definitely be back in the future <3
Alex –
This session was wonderful and well worth the money. I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent with the guide, Charles, who was very cheerful and helpful. Charles provided excellent feedback, guidance, and took me to several very interesting locations. The photos that I took away from this session were amongst the better photos I have from my four weeks in Japan. When I make it back to Japan, I look forward to doing more of the sessions on offer and in different cities. I have to add that for me, as a senior, Charles was very accommodating to my old bones. In addition to keeping the session very interesting, and being a good conversationalist, he kept to pace to a manageable one with lots of time for observation and very helpful critique. I certainly benefitted from his assessments.
As a last point, I encourage anyone to take a look at the Eyexplore YouTube channel. Based on my experience in this session, everything I have seen on that channel is genuine and an accurate reflection of how well these photo sessions are run.
Lou –
Very nice photography workshop in Japan! You’ll have amazing photos of the place.
LOZ FROM OZ (LozzR) –
I did two eyexplore workshops on my recent visit, Tokyo Soul and Cyberpunk streets. I visit Japan quite often but this is the first time I have done anything formal, and the workshops were fantastic! I thought I knew Tokyo really well, but Charles took me to some great hidden spots I would never have found on my own. It was great having someone to help with composition suggestions, tweaking camera settings and trying new techniques.
simonwE6607DR –
We did the Tokyo Soul photo tour with Charles and it was a great way to see a couple of areas of Tokyo — Shimbashi and Ueno — that we would have probably missed otherwise, and which offered up some truly fantastic photo opportunities. Charles was a lot of fun and great company and made sure everyone in our family was getting the photos they wanted, providing lots of tips and suggestions, and we came away having learnt a lot.
flopsthepenguin –
This was my third photo tour with EYExplore and as always, it was outstanding! This was my first private tour, and obviously a private tour is fantastic because individual requests can be accommodated — but my previous two group tours were also incredible (thus the repeat business).
Charles helped me to compose some really cool shots in fun locations around the city that I would otherwise not have known about — and even though this trip I brought only my iPhone (rather than my mirrorless camera which I had used on previous tours) I still got some GREAT shots and learned a lot! My husband came with us even though he really has no interest in photography, but he enjoyed the locations and had a great time as well. And Charles is just a wonderful resource for all things Japan!
I will continue to book tours with EYExplore each time I am fortunate enough to return to Japan, and I cannot recommend them more highly — regardless of your photography skills! I hope you enjoy my attached photos (all taken with an iPhone 15 ProMax and edited in Lightroom mobile).
georgek80 –
Excellent workshop with a seasoned photographer. I found this workshop to be the best way to see Tokyo by night from the eyes of a talented photographer. The workshop included an educational/learning component followed by implementation at locations that I would never have found by myself.
claudiasharon1 –
I took the Tokyo Soul workshop with Charles and it was such a memorable experience. I’m a deaf photographer and this was my first in-person learning tour with a teacher. I brought my husband along to act as my ASL interpreter and was nervous about whether I’d be able to overcome the communication barrier enough to really learn and enjoy the workshop. I shouldn’t have been worried! Charles was a fantastic and patient teacher. I loved the old-Tokyo locations we visited and it was really fun to capture the everyday life moments of the merchants, artisans, chefs etc. going about their normal workday. Charles taught me a lot about composition, especially what to include/exclude from the frame for a composition with greater impact. The workshop also built my confidence in photographing people, which can sometimes feel intimidating! A huge thank you to Charles and the EYExplore team for a super tour that I will remember for many years to come.