Tokyo Rumando 「Rest 3000~ Stay 5000~」

Tokyo Rumando is the pen-name of a young Tokyo photographer who has entered the world of the love hotel to produce a book of self-portraits. Visiting more than 20 love hotels in Tokyo, alone with her camera, she takes us with her into this other world. We sense the excitement of the first encounter with a lover, the sometimes tragic events that occur, as well as the tawdry and sordid nature of many encounters here. But in all cases it is a significant remove from the every day life of the city. Tokyo Rumando has also explored historical and cultural aspects of the hotels. They tend to cluster around the historical entertainment districts. Most famous are the districts of Shinjuku, Ikebukuro and Yoshiwara, with links that stretch back a century or more in Tokyo's pleasure quarters. The hotels also represent a rite of passage for most Japanese people as they enter their teens and twenties; where many enter the realm of the senses. On the surface, Japan is a well-ordered, clean society. Tokyo Rumando's photographs take us through the walls into a very private world, where fulfilment, excitement, fantasy andlove is sought within the vast metropolis of Tokyo. ーMark Pearson (Zen Foto Gallery)