Quiet ritual

street photography
Written By Giovanni Piliarvu

In the relentless flow of Tokyo’s urban life, there are moments of stillness where the city’s rhythm yields to quiet interludes. A smoking area becomes a temporary retreat—a place for solitary reflection or a collective embrace of a shared ritual.

These moments, set against the backdrop of Tokyo’s night, articulate the universal need for pause—a momentary detachment from the hastened strides of urban life. They stand as the city’s quiet breaths, solitary respites that are woven into the broader tapestry of Tokyo's nocturnal rhythm.

The first image might be familiar, as It's a part of the book that Lee Chapman and I released earlier this year.

For those interested, we still have some copies available in our shop!

Man checking phone by a bright blue smoking area wall in Tokyo at night with a Coca-Cola vending machine to the right.
Individual under a clear umbrella smoking while using smartphone, by a sign board, at night in Tokyo.
Chef in white uniform talking on the phone outside a small restaurant with a red scooter parked nearby.
Group of businessmen in suits enjoying a cigarette break outside a traditional Japanese eatery with a noren curtain at the entrance.
Person lounging on a bench next to a bicycle in a designated smoking area in Tokyo during the night.
Giovanni Piliarvu https://www.giovannipiliarvu.com
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