It's hunting season in Tokyo. I kit up and trek out to the Hakusan area of Bunkyo Ward, hoping to shoot (with camera) the wild shades of autumn.

Of all the bright leaves I plan to bag, origami papers are last on my mind. However, emerging from Exit A1 of the Tozai-Mita subway line's Hakusan Station, a sign directly across the street reads, in English, "Gallery Origami House" — so I zip over to investigate.

Glued to his computer, 29-year-old staffer Satoshi Kamiya is too busy to chat. That's fine, because the gallery's displays of origami masterpieces from around the world speak for themselves: impossibly intricate scaled dragons, dramatic masks, realistic insects, a spiky puffer fish and a life-size crane.