Green Day

Green was everywhere back then!

While visiting my friend Yamato in Ibusuki, I decided to take a trip to the local hot springs. I got off the train far too early, so the walk there was long – and the walk back was even longer. But that small mistake turned into one of the strongest moments of the whole trip.

Along the way, I walked through a jungle that was slowly swallowing what was left of human life. Abandoned houses, forgotten structures, fragments of everyday existence, all disappearing under layers of leaves, vines, trees, and grass.

Kyushu’s flora fascinated me so deeply that I ended up creating a small photographic series focused solely on plants. It is hard to put into words what that place felt like. Kyushu, the southernmost main island of Japan, has a subtropical climate, and everything around me felt intensely alive – fresh, wet, and breathing, as if the rain had just stopped. What stayed with me most was the contrast: traces of human presence slowly fading, while nature calmly and patiently takes everything back.

Fujifilm X100V
2025