Small Japanese Cities Captured by Photographer Guido Castagnoli

Although Italian photographer Guido Castagnoli was dazzled by the bright lights of Tokyo, he preferred to step back from the excitement of the Japanese capital and turn his attention to the provinces, notably Shizuoka prefecture, found halfway between Tokyo and Kyoto.

Almost empty spaces

His series of images entitled Provincial Japan features cities almost emptied of their inhabitants and businesses with flashy but tired shopfronts, showing another side of Japan that is less documented than Tokyo life.

Peaceful and almost monotonous, these photographs could almost be mistaken for images of American ghost towns at first glance. This photographic dive into the silence of these almost empty spaces reveals another facet of Japan.

Provincial Japan (2007), a series of photographs by Guido Castagnoli, can be viewed on his website.