State of Tokyo — Julia Shibata

5 min readJun 28, 2016

It has been a while since this project started to boil in my head. It has taken a while for me too to clear my own mind about what I really wanted to do. Mainly because, I thought, it is hard to do something new and original in a world where photography is everywhere and instantly consumed.

But no matter how many times I thought about it, I could not stop thinking about this. I needed to do it. It’s not for the money, it’s not for fame (what’s that?), it’s because the world is inspiring and full of art. And it’s not just the world, it’s the humans that inspire me. Every single of us has a story to tell, has a hidden expression to share, a universe within our minds.

And this is the reason why I am starting this project called State of Tokyo. This is more about the people and less about the city, but it is about both. It is also about you. About people that inspire and about the people that I know. About friends, and strangers, grandpas, colleagues and people I still have to meet. I want to capture and share what inspires me so it can inspire you too.

It’s a humble blog, with a bit of a spartan design that no doubt can be improved, but at the end it’s about the names and about the people who are on each post.

If you are based in Tokyo and know someone that inspires you, or a store that amazes you, or a little bar or a business that you think it’s unique and deserves to be know, please let me know. I will do my best to try to photograph that special person or place.

I will be waiting for your email here: admin@stateoftokyo.com

Julia was born and raised in Germany. One day she decided she wanted to live her own life, quit her job, cut all ties and moved to Japan about 5 years ago. She didn’t plan much, just had the feeling it was the right time, and went for it. Since then she’s been following her instincts and living her own life. Julia doesn’t like to think too much about things and the future, learning from the good and bad things from the past she became the way she is now, a kind and joyful spirit. She enjoys travelling around the places she hasn’t been yet in Japan, and loves nature. As you will see from the photo shoot, loves to change herself constantly on the way she looks and dresses, or new designs for her tattoos.

We got in touch through Instagram; I thought her style was really original so I dropped her a message asking if she would like to do some collaboration. The result was great! There was good synergy and we shot the 3 different styles we discussed and improvised in the same location. The first one, a colourful and natural style; the second, a dark and vampiresque look with a slight steampunk influence; and the third, a white and blond look with some ballet influences on a slightly dystopian background.

Photography Alex Abian

Make up and Stylism: Julia Shibata

Model: Julia Shibata

Translation: Seiya Watanabe

Feel free to contact Julia for collaborations or bookings by email here.

日本語

ドイツ生まれ育ちのユリア。自分自身を生きようと、仕事を辞め、これまで生きてきた世界を離れ、来日したのが約５年前のこと。物事や将来について理屈で考えるのが好きではない。自身の経験やその価値観から生まれる直感が道標となり、彼女の「今」を創っているのだろう。趣味は旅行と、自然に向き合うこと。身体に付与する装飾やタテゥーに常に変化を求め、新しい自分になりたいと思う気持ちを大切にしているそうだ。

彼女の独創的なスタイルに惹かれ、インスタグラムで声をかけたのが今回の撮影のきっかけとなった。今回は「色彩と自然」、「スチームパンク調のヴァンパイアと闇」そして「ディストピアとバレエの融合」をテーマに、３つの異なるパターンで彼女を表現してもらうことにした。