N&O photographer Takaaki Iwabu, a native of Yokohama, returns to Japan periodically.
Some of his travels are captured in an exhibit of 16 color photos currently on display
at Cafe Helios in Raleigh. Following is the statement he prepared for the show.
Going Home
My friend once called me "the Olympics" because I visit Japan, my home country, only once in four years.
When I do, though, I wander around the streets to take it all in. The lights, the noise, a smell of food and people's voices - all so familiar, yet so distant they are becoming after many years of living abroad.
I used to visit these streets to feel a sense of anonymity. Getting lost in the crowd somehow calmed me down. Now I search for something different, a sense of belonging perhaps. But that hardly comes to you when the strangers in front of you look merely strange.
An old Turkish man I met in Raleigh told me that he left his country when he was 22, the same age I was when I left Japan 18 years ago. I asked whether he misses his home.
"I think about it every day," he replied with a distant look.
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What: "Going Home" photography exhibit
Where: Cafe Helios, 413 Glenwood Ave., Raleigh
When: Through Wednesday
Contact: 838-5177, cafehelios.com
