If you wish to purchase a car in Japan, there is quite a unique condition linked to that purchase: The proof of parking space.
Despite having lived in Japan for years, I had never realized the visual impact of this peculiarity until November 2021, when two weeks of strict Covid quarantine life in Yokohama had confined me to a very narrow radius of activity around the house. Walking the same narrow roads all over again and again while avoiding cars passing by, I finally saw the obvious visual treat: a unique and highly inventive way to comply with the "proof of parking space" rules. Here are the three main rules:
The distance between your house and the parking space must be less than two kilometres.
You can enter or exit your parking space without any obstacles and your entire vehicle must fit inside the parking place.
You must hold the right to use the land or building as your parking space.
For us Westerners the Japanese way of car parking is a new visual key to roadside use and a new incentive to rethink roadside parking. Looking at the images, we may be amused by the abundant creativity in parking cars, which also gives away the character of the various car owners.
As a photographer, I hope you enjoy the images and take away some insights into life in Japan. If you have any questions or ideas connected to this topic, I would be happy to hear from you.
Project details:
PROJECT STATUS: ONGOING, UNPUBLISHED, GALLERY READY
Dates of Photography: November, December 2021, December to February 2022;
Number of Images: 100 +
