Shinjuku Kitamura Camera, operated by Kitamura Camera Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director and President: Kazuhiro Fukumoto), is hosting the photo exhibition "100 Views of Tokyo's Slopes: 44 Works on Handmade Washi Paper" from Wednesday, August 19 to Tuesday, August 25, 2026. The exhibition celebrates the release of the photo book "100 Views of Tokyo's Slopes" by Tomohiko Minagawa, known as a "slope photographer," who has captured the city's captivating slopes on camera. Every work is printed on handmade Japanese washi paper, giving the images a distinctive texture and atmosphere reminiscent of ukiyo-e woodblock prints.
An Exhibition That Makes Your Everyday Slopes More Fun
Tokyo owes many of its slopes to the cliff-like boundary between the Musashino Plateau and the lowlands below it. The plateau is also dotted with bowl-shaped valleys and natural springs, and the rivers of various sizes flowing from them have carved out valleys lined with still more slopes. Because of this terrain, Tokyo is said to have around 900 named slopes alone.
In September 2025, Tomohiko Minagawa's photo exhibition "Strange Roads Hidden in the City: 36 Views of Tokyo's Slopes," held at Canon Gallery, captured the many faces slopes take on depending on the time, season, and weather, and drew a strong response.
Speaking about the appeal of the exhibition, Tamori, Vice Chairman of the Japan Slope Society, commented:
"Last year, I received an invitation to a solo exhibition from slope photographer Tomohiko Minagawa, and that's how I first learned of him. I went to see it right away, and I was amazed. To me, the ideal slope scene had always been one in daylight, with good weather, and no people or cars in sight. But Minagawa's slope photographs were taken at night, in bad weather, with people and cars present — and it was wonderful. The slopes looked like entrances to another world, revealing slopes I had never known." (From Oedo, Tokyo Slopes by Tamori: Shinjuku, Shibuya, and Meguro Edition, photographed and written by Tamori, published by ART NEXT, 2026)
This exhibition centers on 44 works selected from the photo book "100 Views of Tokyo's Slopes."
The appeal of a slope lies in the way it can become a gateway to another world, or a reflection of a neighborhood's memories and the lives lived there. Within these scenes, an unfamiliar side of the vast city of Tokyo comes into view.
Event Overview
- Dates: Wednesday, August 19 to Tuesday, August 25, 2026
- Hours: 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM
- Venue: Shinjuku Kitamura Camera, B1F Basement Gallery
Artist Attendance Schedule
Tomohiko Minagawa is scheduled to be at the gallery on the following dates and times.
Note: The schedule is subject to change. Please check Tomohiko Minagawa's Facebook for the latest details before visiting.
- Wednesday, August 19: 10:30 AM to 1:30 PM, 2:30 PM to 8:30 PM
- Thursday, August 20: 10:30 AM to 6:30 PM
- Friday, August 21: 10:30 AM to 1:30 PM, 2:30 PM to 8:30 PM
- Saturday, August 22 to Tuesday, August 25: 10:30 AM to 6:30 PM
Photographer Profile
Tomohiko Minagawa
Born in Yamagata Prefecture in 1962. A slope photographer, he graduated from Yamagata University and the Tokyo College of Photography. He worked as an editor before becoming a photographer, later stepped away from photography to run a business, and resumed serious photographic activity in 2022. After coming across an old stairway near the Roppongi intersection, he began photographing Tokyo's slopes, viewing them as "an otherworldly space where the city's memory and future intersect." He won Digital Camera Magazine's Digital Photo Division Grand Prize three years in a row, from 2023 to 2025, and also received the Print Division Grand Prize in 2025. In September 2025, he held the photo exhibition "Strange Roads Hidden in the City: 36 Views of Tokyo's Slopes" at Canon Gallery Ginza, and his distinctive vision has earned high acclaim.
About the Basement Gallery
A photo gallery located on the basement floor (B1F) of Shinjuku Kitamura Camera. It relocated from the 6th floor of the same building and reopened in June 2024. Built around the concept of "sending photographic culture out from underground," the Basement Gallery is a space dedicated to sharing the appeal of photography with everyone who loves it. Visitors can enjoy a range of photography- and camera-related events, from exhibitions by photographers active across various industries to collaborative projects with manufacturers.
About Shinjuku Kitamura Camera
Shinjuku Kitamura Camera opened in July 2020 in Shinjuku, a mecca for camera lovers, as a new specialty store proposing a lifestyle centered on photography and cameras. Spanning every floor from the basement to the upper levels, the store brings together a range of content to meet a variety of photography needs, including a new and used camera sales floor, a vintage salon centered on Leica, a service counter that supports repairs and everyday maintenance, and an event space for photo exhibitions. In June 2024, a Leica boutique also opened on the 6th floor, and the store continues to propose a rich photographic life for everyone, from longtime photography and camera enthusiasts to beginners.
