“I love the movie ‘Lost in Translation,’ so I decided I would stay in the Park Hyatt Tokyo, where the film was made, and not leave for five nights. Instead, I would bring the city to me, finding people online — through Craigslist and other sites. I brought in singers, a sushi chef, teachers and others. I probably learned as much as if I had gone out and visited temples and wandered the streets. Normally, I have a wariness of photographing in other cultures, but I felt as though I could get away with it here, because I’m not even pretending to enter the city. I was totally lost in translation, presented with this fabulous surface of things that I don’t entirely understand.”
(Alec Soth for New York Times Voyages)