I took my vintage lenses to Hita, in Oita. In the Edo period it prospered as a town under the direct rule of the shogunate, and it still has Mameda-machi, a quarter of white-walled merchant houses, and the Mikuma River running through the middle of town. Hita is famous for its summer heat — and once again I brought the heavy pair: Pentax 67 medium-format lenses on a GFX. A sweaty vintage lens stroll. Let's go!
Mameda-machi keeps its old streets of white walls and wooden lattices just as they were. Towering summer clouds over tiled roofs — this is a Japanese summer, and I could not stop pressing the shutter.
Past the old town you reach the Mikuma River. Summer clouds float on the water and the breeze is a little cooler. The soft rendering of the Pentax 67 105mm suits the riverside air.
Lunch was grilled eel — on a hot day it goes straight to the soul. In the park a panda ride was resting in the shade, and on the river the roofed pleasure boats were waiting for the evening cormorant fishing.
It was a hot, hot summer in Hita, yet the Pentax 67 lenses made the white walls, the summer clouds and the river all look somehow cool. Old streets and vintage lenses really do go well together. Why not take your favorite vintage lens and visit Hita yourself?
Born in Yokohama.
Entrepreneur, photographer, and author.
Runs vintage accessory-parts shops in Yokohama and Jiyugaoka, Tokyo.
Writes e-books about traveling Japan with vintage lenses.
Through shops and books, working to give the good old things
that are quietly disappearing a new value and a new life.
