Photographer Chronicles Day-to-Day Life in Tokyo · Global Voices
Nevin Thompson

Fish market worker, Tokyo, Japan (uncaptioned photo). Photo by Lee Chapman / Tokyo Times. Used with permission.
Lee Chapman is a street photographer who prolifically documents life in Tokyo. While Chapman, a professional photographer who shoots for the Guardian, the Economist, the Daily Mail and other publications, maintains a portfolio, his blog Tokyo Times is updated three times a week.
Tokyo: A daily struggle https://t.co/9jv7OXMgT7 pic.twitter.com/H31Clwwvs4
— Lee Chapman (@tokyotimes) April 24, 2017
Chapman has lived in Japan since 1998. He originally intended to stay for a year or two, but now he says Japan is his home. According to a recent interview available online, Chapman says using a Leica M8 Rangefinder — the relatively small camera allows him to approach his subjects — has influenced his work.
While Chapman documents life in and around Tokyo, recent blog posts have also captures haikyo, a genre of photography that documents the slow decline of abandoned buildings in Japan and elsewhere.
New photos: The silence of an abandoned Japanese village https://t.co/HCWfrLARdF
— Lee Chapman (@tokyotimes) April 25, 2017
Finally got round to adding an Abandoned Japan section to my portfolio: https://t.co/BH5MxppXnk pic.twitter.com/7hNNz8qLjy
— Lee Chapman (@tokyotimes) April 6, 2017
Old, crumbling and abandoned Tokyo: https://t.co/vjf37ELoR6 pic.twitter.com/Du9EwJ2c6E
— Lee Chapman (@tokyotimes) May 3, 2017
There is something for almost every interest on Chapman's blog, include more formal portraits:
Shinto priest: A colour portrait https://t.co/nYR7SsmfdJ pic.twitter.com/CESIb2ITZY
— Lee Chapman (@tokyotimes) May 1, 2017
At its best, Chapman's blog captures scenes of everyday life in Japan, some of which may not be around for much longer:
A traditional Tokyo rice cracker shop: https://t.co/fGPuzZ1W0B pic.twitter.com/IYli8P6Epb
— Lee Chapman (@tokyotimes) March 27, 2017
Since Chapman is so prolific, it can be challenging to figure out how to start exploring his images. Luckily, Chapman has listed his “favourite images of 2016“, which provide a good introduction to his street photography.
If you're interested in some of the more technical details of how Chapman approaches photography, there is an excellent interview with yet another Japan-based photographer, nature and wildlife photographer Martin Bailey.
I just released a video interview with Tokyo street photographer Lee Chapman AKA @tokyotimes. Video and links: https://t.co/Vrb5CksKT6 pic.twitter.com/MxJTeR7NCo
— Martin Bailey (@MartinBailey) April 17, 2017
Besides Chapman's blog and portfolio, his photographs can be found on his Tokyo Times Instagram and Twitter accounts.