Same Way, Same Day

This project began in late 2017, during my early days of migration to Japan. At the time, I didn’t know how to start my career as a photographer because of the language barrier. I had to set photography aside and take on a day job to support my wife and our daily expenses. When I found my first job as a hotel housekeeper in Roppongi, Tokyo, I bought a small camera to carry with me.

Photography became a form of therapy, an escape from the exhaustion of my day job. Back then, I had no intention of creating a body of work with this archives of images. I only wanted to feel like a photographer again, even if only as a hobby. Documenting ordinary scenes and daily life made me look forward to stepping outside each day.

Over time, I realized that many foreign workers I met shared the same dreams and struggles. Navigating work, building a career, and facing the challenges of life in a new country. Yet despite the hardships, there was gratitude in simply being here and working toward personal goals.

Life in Japan can be demanding and repetitive. Some days it felt impossible to distinguish one day from the next, as routines blurred together. That is why this work is titled Same Way, Same Day.

Photographs taken from late 2017 to the present.