{"id":465635,"date":"2026-06-07T16:45:22","date_gmt":"2026-06-07T16:45:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/465635\/"},"modified":"2026-06-07T16:45:22","modified_gmt":"2026-06-07T16:45:22","slug":"colour-hunting-the-hot-new-street-photography-trend-changing-how-we-see-japan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/465635\/","title":{"rendered":"Colour Hunting: The hot new street photography trend changing how we see Japan"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Some might say you haven\u2019t truly seen Japan if you haven\u2019t colour hunted.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Recently, an activity called \u201ccolour hunting\u201d has been gaining popularity in Japan. Simply put, it involves choosing a colour theme and then, while walking around town, taking photos of things that match that colour, before compiling them into a single image.<\/p>\n

The results are remarkably mesmerising, but what\u2019s even more interesting is the way it encourages you to notice details you wouldn\u2019t have noticed otherwise, giving you a whole new perspective on your surroundings.<\/p>\n

Always keen to try out a trend, we decided to conduct our very own colour hunt, both in a rural residential area and in the heart of Tokyo, to see what we could find. The theme we chose was yellow, and as we set out on our walk, which was a familiar one, it didn\u2019t take long for us to spot things we\u2019d never noticed before.<\/p>\n

\u25bc Like the fittings on a metal barrier\u2026<\/p>\n

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\u25bc \u2026 flowers growing by the side of the pavement\u2026<\/p>\n

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\u25bc\u2026netting over garbage collection areas\u2026<\/p>\n

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\u25bc\u2026and, of course, the road signs.<\/p>\n

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Moving further down the street and into the main hub of town, our eyes began to spy yellow in slightly more unusual places, like the cube of partially melted butter on the \u201cbutter chicken curry\u201d banner outside an Indian restaurant.<\/p>\n

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\u25bc The yellow \u201cprescription services\u201d sign outside a local drugstore\u2026<\/p>\n

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\u25bc \u2026and the yellow on a pack of Calbee chips.<\/p>\n

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With our eyes now instinctively zoning in on shades of yellow, the sunny colour began to lift our mood. It also became something of a scavenger hunt, and after around an hour of walking, our prize was this composite image of all the yellow we\u2019d seen.<\/p>\n

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The images actually painted a picture of quaint countryside life, and now we were ready to take things up a notch by colour hunting in the heart of Tokyo.<\/p>\n

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Walking around Shimbashi, it didn\u2019t take long for our eyes to zone in on yellow, with this \u201cMoney Exchange\u201d sign being our first find of the afternoon.<\/p>\n

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\u25bc We also spotted a large bee on a coin locker nearby.<\/p>\n

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This was already turning out better than expected, and our search for the sunny hue continued in earnest when we stopped to photograph a yellow lantern advertising Suntory whisky highballs.<\/p>\n

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\u25bc Crates of Hoppy, a beer-flavoured low-alcohol drink were also outside.<\/p>\n

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\u25bc And nearby, a branch of the Go Go Curry chain.<\/p>\n

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At this point, we were so honed in on yellow that people wearing the colour, or carrying yellow items, began to stand out as they attracted our gaze.<\/p>\n

\u25bc When our eyes landed upon Sora-jiro doing a live weather forecast, we couldn\u2019t help but smile.<\/p>\n

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\u25bc Sora-jiro is the mascot character for Nippon Television and its weather forecast.<\/p>\n

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Continuing on our stroll, we came across even more yellow sightings.<\/p>\n

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We began to realise just how well yellow works in attracting the eye, leading it to be used on a number of signs like the \u201cadvertising recruitment\u201d ones on these coin lockers\u2026<\/p>\n

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\u25bc \u2026and this one, which reads \u201cLast two buildings\u201d.<\/p>\n

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Just as we thought we were done for the day, we came across these figures, which are actually designed to be used as seating benches.<\/p>\n

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Compiling our photos from Shimbashi, the look and feel was entirely different to our rural collection, capturing the finer details that give Tokyo its unique charm.<\/p>\n

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Hunting for the same colour in two different locations revealed an interesting contrast in subjects and mood \u2013 whereas the rural scenes mostly contained images of flowers and signs, in Tokyo there was more grit and extra variety, as objects and characters played a greater role. It was such a fun, eye-opening adventure that we\u2019re now keen to hunt for more colours around town, and connect with all the hidden finds areas we would otherwise miss.<\/p>\n

Images\u00a9SoraNews24
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