Tokyo has many faces. One of its face is seen in a small area, formerly called “San-ya”, inhibited by low-wage workers. There stands a cheap lodging house open only to foreign travelers. Fascinated by the lodging house and backpackers it accommodates, I have been visiting the place for more than 7 years, taking portraits of hundreds of backpackers from all over the world staying at the lodge.
The portraits are expressive of conversations with them, and memories of their life stories. Faces of those backpackers, who have traversed the space which feels like an Internet hub, reveal the world we live in today, seen through emotions on their faces. Collectively, those faces form the “portrait of our times” in which each traveler becomes a small, floating piece of the world.


Kazuhiko Washio is a photographer based in Tokyo, Japan.
To view more of Kazuhiko Washio's work, please visit his website.
To purchase Photo book of Hotel Fareast from Akaaka website.