--- description: "I remember my parents taking me to the beach," says photographer Asako Narahashi. "The coastline of Japan is very long and complex. There are beaches... title: Eerie Photos of Japan's Coast image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [LightBox](/tag/time-section-lightbox/) ## LightBox Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Eerie Photos of Japan's Coast by [Krystal Grow](/author/krystal-grow/) ## Krystal Grow Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 8, 2014 9:05 PM CUT by [Krystal Grow](/author/krystal-grow/) ## Krystal Grow Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 8, 2014 9:05 PM CUT “I remember my parents taking me to the beach,” says photographer Asako Narahashi. “The coastline of Japan is very long and complex. There are beaches and mountains. They all have their unique expressions.” In her latest book,[ _Ever After_](http://www.osiris.co.jp/e/ea%5Fe.html "undefined") _–_ a continuation of her 2008 masterpiece _half awake and half asleep in the water_ – Narahashi shows the geography of Japan from a dreamy, desolate and disconnected perspective. Floating off the coastline, Narahashi lifts her camera just above the water, and makes a photograph. The images that appear are split, at times almost completely in half, with the lower frame practically submerged, while the peak of Mt.Fuji or another far-off landmark rises just above the glistening ripple of a breaking wave. “When I started this project, I wanted to see and depict Japan as an island,” she said, admitting that at first, she didn’t have any strong attachment to the places she was photographing from afar. But after the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and ensuing nuclear disaster in Fukushima, people began to see an eerie tension and trepidation in her waterlogged imagery. “That was really shocking to me, so I stayed away from taking photos in Japan for a while,” she said. “I didn’t want to take pictures of the water anymore.” She traveled to the Netherlands instead and made images on dry land that continued her photographic exploration of disconnected landscapes, but did not return to the water until friends encouraged her to visit Nojiri Lake, near Nagano, Japan. “It was a challenge getting back to this work,” she said, “but visiting this lake was something of a rehabilitation for me, and allowed me \[to find\] a way back into photographing in Japan again” Her photographs, which she had called “happy coincidences,” became reminders of the darker, more ominous side of the natural world, and our helplessness in the face of destruction. That sense of resignation is as calming as it is unsettling in _Ever After_, as Narahashi’s floating photographs feel listless, but not carefree – certainly not the sort of photos one would take on a leisurely day at the beach. The distance she creates between herself, the camera and the landscapes is powerfully serene and dreadfully solitary. While not all of the images in Narahashi’s book are underwater, she still manages to creates a distinct sense of separation that makes the viewer acutely aware of just how little we know about the landscapes that surround us. “After the disaster, those words ‘ever after’ were always with me. I found myself repeating them, like the end of a fairy tale,” she said. “The work is more complex now.” --- **_Asako Narahashi_** _is a photographer based in Japan. Her book_ [Ever After](http://www.osiris.co.jp/e/ea%5Fe.html "undefined") _is published by Osiris_ **_Krystal Grow_** _is a contributor to TIME LightBox. Follow her on_ [_Twitter_](https://twitter.com/kgreyscale "undefined")_and_ [_Instgram_](http://instagram.com/kgreyscale "undefined") _@kgreyscale_ ---  Amsterdam, 2011 Asako Narahashi  Toyako, 2008 Asako Narahashi  St Kilda, 2006 Asako Narahashi  Toyako, 2010 Asako Narahashi  Zao, 2009 Asako Narahashi  Taiza, 2004 Asako Narahashi  Same, 2010 Asako Narahashi  Chuzenjiko, 2010 Asako Narahashi  Niigata, 2011 Asako Narahashi  Jogashima, 2007 Asako Narahashi  Shimabara, 2011 Asako Narahashi  Kawaguchiko, 2003 Asako Narahashi  Kotan, 2002 Asako Narahashi  Nojiriko, 2011 Asako Narahashi  Katata, 2005 Asako Narahashi ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3600559/eerie-photos-of-japans-coast/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3600559/eerie-photos-of-japans-coast/"},"headline":"Eerie Photos of Japan's Coast","datePublished":"2014-10-08T21:05:09.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:41:47.682Z","description":"\"I remember my parents taking me to the beach,\" says photographer Asako Narahashi. \"The coastline of Japan is very long and complex. There are beaches...","url":"https://time.com/3600559/eerie-photos-of-japans-coast/","keywords":["LightBox","Japan","photography","Fukushima","On Our Radar"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Krystal Grow","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/krystal-grow/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-lightbox/","name":"LightBox"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3600559/eerie-photos-of-japans-coast/","name":"Eerie Photos of Japan's Coast"}}]}] ```