Naoki Ishikawa, an incessant traveler, took up professional photography just four years ago and has since documented many of his expeditions. He has won various international awards and was the second-youngest photographer to win Japan's Ken Domon Award.
In March this year, Ishikawa decided to climb Mount Everest again — 10 years after his first ascent — and to document his entire journey on film. His photographs follow him from Lukla in Nepal (2,482 meters) to the Everest Base Camp (6,000 m) where he spent a month acclimatizing his body for the final part of the ascent to the summit (8,848 m).
Trying to climb the world's highest mountain is no easy feat, but it is made all the more challenging when carrying a number of cameras and attempting to take photos of ice falls or dramatic crevasses in mid-climb. Ishikawa had to constantly chip ice off the camera lens to get the shots he desired. The exhibition brings a sense of the Himalayan grandeur and foreboding beauty that pushed the artist to his physical limits; till Oct. 22.
Scai the Bathhouse; (03) 3821-1144; Kashiwayu-Ato, 6-1-23 Yanaka, Taito-ku; 6-min walk from South Exit of Nippori Station, JR Lines. 12 p.m.-7 p.m. Admission Free. Closed Sat., Mon. www.scaithebathhouse.com.
