Yubari, Hokkaido, Japan · Photographed in Yubari, 2018
Honcho Shotenagi's main street in Yubari stands silent. Shuttered shops line the faded commercial centre, once a vibrant hub. Decay marks the quiet infrastructure of this former mining city.
Edition
Open edition
Open edition Printed to order, no fixed quantity. Each print is hand-signed by the photographer.
Limited edition A fixed number of prints exist. Once sold, the edition closes permanently. Each print is individually numbered and signed.
$50.00 AUD
SizeXS
TypeUnframed
ColourN/A
Ships within 10 business days · signed & numbered
In situ
Print datasheet · certificate of authenticity
The data is the authenticity.
Paper
Ilford Galerie Smooth Cotton Rag 310 gsm
Process
Giclée
Paper size
290 × 200 mm
Year photographed
2018
Location
Yubari, Hokkaido, Japan
Printed
Sydney, 2026
COA · Every print ships with a signed certificate, edition number and paper stock reference.
Shot on a NIKON D810, 14.0-24.0 mm f/2.8at 24mm, f/9,1/640,ISO 400.
About this print
Honcho Shotengai is the main shopping street of Yubari, Hokkaido, a covered arcade lined with shops on both sides. The arcade roof spans the street between the two rows of buildings, supported on steel posts at the kerb edges. Most of the shopfronts are closed. Some have been closed long enough that the signage has faded; others still have product photographs in their windows. The pavement is wet from melted snow. A few residents pass through the frame, walking quickly, hands in pockets. The scale of the arcade speaks of a town that once supported a much larger population.
Yubari was a coal city. At its peak in 1960 the population was around 116,000. Honcho Shotengai was the commercial spine of the town, busy enough at any hour that the covered arcade made sense for shoppers. As the mines closed through the 1970s and 1980s, the population fell, and so did the trade. By 2007 the city had declared bankruptcy with debts of over $US200 million. Yubari's population today is below 7,000. The arcade in this photograph is what is left of the town's main street: a structure built for ten times the foot traffic it now carries.
From the field notes
The main shopping Street of Yubari.
— Brett Patman
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