tokyo on foot travels in the city's most colorful neighborhoods

This book can be enjoyed by anyone who is interested in Japan, especially Tokyo. Chavouet in which he chronicled his adventures in Japan with his gorgeous hand-drawn pictures and in writing. By the time he's back in his native France, he's got an award-winning, fascinating book that surely makes for ideal reading for both armchair tourists and peripatetic travelers alike.' - Book Dragon (Smithsonian Institute) His myriad of people caught in the midst of their everyday lives are undoubtedly the book's highlight. 'From what Chavouet saw, did, ate-bugs, festivals, storefronts, a fake French mansion, random drinks and snacks-his illustrations catch perfect little details you'll never find in any guidebook. 'synopsis' may belong to another edition of this title. Florent Chavouet begins his introduction by observing that, 'Tokyo is said to be the most beautiful of ugly cities.' With wit, a playful sense of humor, and the multicolor pencils of his kit, he sets aside the question of urban ugliness or beauty and captures the Japanese essence of a great city in this genuinely vital portrait. This very personal guide to Tokyo is organized by neighborhood with hand-drawn maps that provide an overview of each neighborhood, but what defines them is what caught the artist's eye and attracted his formidable drawing talent.

Realistically rendered advertisements or posters of pop stars contrast with cartoon sketches of iconic objects or droll vignettes, like a housewife walking her pet pig, a Godzilla statue in a local park, and an urban fishing pond that charges 400 yen per half hour. The artist mixes styles and tags his pictures with wry comments and observations. A temple nestles among skyscrapers the corner grocery anchors a diverse assortment of dwellings, cafes, and shops-often tangled in electric lines. Here you find businessmen and businesswomen, hipsters, students, grandmothers, shopkeepers, police officers, and other urban types and tribes in all manner of dress and hairstyles. It isn't the Tokyo of packaged tours and glossy guidebooks, but a grittier, vibrant place, full of ordinary people going about their daily lives and the scenes and activities that unfold on the streets of a bustling metropolis. This stunning book records the city that he got to know during his adventures.

Each day he would set forth with a pouch full of color pencils and a sketchpad, and visit different neighborhoods. This prize-winning book is both an illustrated tour of a Tokyo rarely seen in Japan travel guides and an artist's warm, funny, visually rich, and always entertaining graphic memoir.įlorent Chavouet, a young graphic artist, spent six months exploring Tokyo while his girlfriend interned at a company there.

Tokyo on foot travels in the city's most colorful neighborhoods