Japanese icons are famed and well photographed; Fuji, Tokyo Tower, Fushimi Inari-taisha. A popular foreign image of Japan, though less pondered and less visualized, is of high-tech manufacturing and gargantuan industrial might. A short sanpo (walk) just south of Tokyo, the port of Kawasaki welcomes you, and reeks of chemicals from neatly arranged legions of these ultra-dense piped monsters. The spectrum of opinion on the beauty really reaches here; from hyper-sanitary industrial elegance, to dystopian chemical belchers; in any event tourists do flock here by boat for the spectacle at night. Thankfully more plants are always joining the group as land is constantly reclaimed in the bay for more pipes.
Chris Jongkind is a 37-year old Canadian with an interest in the form of Japanese urban environments. Rather than more of the same images from the standard, saturated city observatories, most of his time is spent on rooftops, industrial sites, and other unusual locations. His work can be found in numerous publications, be they Japanese or otherwise, often architectural, industrial, or transport in theme.
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