Last weekend, from Friday through Sunday, I joined an open-call photo exhibition called “ECHO” in Kyoto, hosted by Photogenic.
The event started at 10am on the first day, but since I was coming from Tokyo, I got there around 11:30.
The venue, Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art, was honestly amazing—this huge building where modern and traditional architecture meet. Totally blew me away.
And then… I walked into the exhibition hall on the second floor, and bam—my photo was right there near the entrance.
I was like, wait, what?! I couldn’t believe it. Such a prime spot for my work? I felt super honored (and a bit shy, to be honest).
I chatted a bit with a guy from Photogenic, then took my time walking around. There were over 330 photos on display—seriously impressive.
On day one, I only looked at a few other works and mostly stayed near mine.
Some people came up to chat—visitors and fellow photographers too. That was really nice.
It was a weekday, so the crowd was light early on, but more and more people started showing up in the evening.
I didn’t go out of my way to talk to anyone—most people seemed totally absorbed in the photos.
And honestly, I felt like it was more important for them to just feel something, rather than hear me talk about it.
Still, a few people came over after viewing and shared their thoughts or asked questions, and that made me really happy.
The next day? Total success. So many people came by. I got to meet other photographers, had some great conversations, and really enjoyed the vibe.
A few people even told me they came just to see my photo. I mean—wow. What an honor.
Compared to the solo show I did last year, this was a totally different experience.
So many conversations, so many questions—way more than I expected.
And someone even said they wanted to buy my work! (Though I haven’t started selling yet…)
This Ghost series has definitely been a turning point for me as a photographer.
The way people connected with it gave me a big confidence boost.
Some said they related to my caption, others said they almost cried.
It felt like this strange but beautiful sense of connection—as if we’ve all been through something tough and are slowly moving forward.
A few people told me they felt healed, or that they felt stronger after seeing my photo.
Hearing that made me so glad I decided to exhibit.
Thank you, truly.
The three days flew by. Seriously, it felt like a blink.
But it was intense and full of meaning.
To everyone I met, everyone who shared their thoughts, my fellow photographers, my awesome troublemaker friends, and the team at Photogenic—thank you.
I’m really grateful.
And now… on to the next chapter. Let’s keep going.
Oh, if you’re interested about my work at exhibition, click here for more!
Thank you so much!!
Have a nice weekend!!
😘😘😘