The Night Streets of Tokyo, Captured 'Blade Runner'-Style

One evening in Kabukichō, Tokyo’s red light district, Liam Wong snapped a photo (above) that changed how he saw the city: A taxi stands parked outside a “love hotel,” a place where couples looking for a few hours of privacy can rent rooms (fitted with all sorts of amenities). As the taxi driver waits for his clients, his expectant face is illuminated by the light inside the car, in stark contrast to the gloom outside.

Capturing this seemingly mundane moment while visiting Tokyo in early 2016 inspired Wong, who works as an art director for a Montreal-based video game developer by day. So for the few weeks he was in the Japanese capital, he took to the streets at night, armed with a new DSLR camera, hoping to document the color and chaos in overlooked crannies of the city.