Ukima is a neighborhood in Kita Ward in northern Tokyo. This is where Hikaru Honda moved after his career as a scriptwriter failed to take off: in Ukima, rents are affordable.
But Honda’s "Ukima" is not a book about failure or resentment. In his forties, Honda married Noriko. A late love, for both of them. In his photos, Honda records their daily life together in Ukima: shared walks through the neighborhood, time spent at home. Honda’s camera records the moments of beauty that need to be discovered and actively noticed.

“On sunny days we took nothing but a camera and walked through Ukima together. Around the buildings were flowers planted by the residents, and she told me their names. But little by little, the scenery changed. Reconstruction advanced, and even the small handmade bakery we both loved closed its doors. One day, after a quarrel, when we had made peace again, she said to me: ‘You have never truly lost what is most important.’”
― from Hikaru Honda’s afterword