I first visited Japan in August 2013. It was a short, last-minute holiday to Nagoya with my wife. We had unexpectedly found ourselves with a few free days, and decided to take a quick trip. My wife had always spoken about her dream of visiting Japan, but at the time, I couldn’t understand the fascination — why so many people from Singapore, Macau, and Hong Kong loved going there.
Personally, I would have preferred somewhere like Australia or New Zealand. But with only a few days available, the idea of spending nearly a full day flying (nine hours each way from Hong Kong to Melbourne) seemed exhausting and impractical. So after some persuasion, I relented — and we booked tickets to Japan, choosing Nagoya because it was only a four-hour flight away from Macau (where we were based).
Little did I know then how profoundly that trip would change my perception — and spark a lifelong fondness for the country.
The things that struck me when we arrived in Japan.
From the moment we arrived, Japan left a deep impression on me.
The streets were immaculately clean. The food was incredible — even the sushi sold in 7-Elevens was fresh and delicious. Public transport ran with astonishing precision — trains arrived exactly to the minute, not early, not late. Everywhere, workers were unfailingly polite — polite in a way I had never experienced before. And most striking of all was the attitude towards work: every task, no matter how small, was approached with a seriousness and dignity that was almost intimidating. Young or old, no matter the job, people worked with the same unwavering dedication.
This sense of quiet commitment has stayed with me ever since that first trip. It became one of the things I most admire — and continue to be inspired by — about Japan.
The image above was taken by me a year later, during a return visit to Tokyo.
(Yes — after that first trip, we fell in love with Japan and returned every year for four years in a row.)
We were visiting Yasukuni Shrine when I encounted this scene:
A lone worker sweeping the vast temple grounds, methodically, patiently, quietly.
There were no supervisors, no audience — just a man carrying out his work with the same spirit of dedication that had impressed me since my first encounter with Japan.
I have shot hundreds of thousands of images and this photograph still remains one of my favourite images — Why is it one of my favourites? Firstly, I love the quiet, peaceful, natural setting and the soft diffused light filtering through the canopy. Secondly, the act of a lone man sweeping the ground in a forest, adds a quiet, poetic element that speaks to mindfulness, care, and respect for nature. A hallmark of the Japanese people.
And lastly and most importantly, in this photograph, I see one of my life’s muses — the Japanese worker — whose spirit of conscientiousness and hard work has inspired me ever since the first time I stepped foot in the country. Though the image shows a man sweeping the forest floor, to me it represents something much more profound. That’s why I titled it, simply: The Japanese Worker.
