Between here and else where

“A photographic diary of displacement and daily walking, tracing the quiet formation of belonging in San Francisco’s Chinatown.”

When I first arrived in America, I experienced a strong sense of cultural shock. My English was limited, and everything around me felt unfamiliar. I carried a deep feeling of alienation—of being present, yet not fully part of the world around me.

Chinatown was close to my college and the rooms I lived in. The food was affordable, the streets felt familiar, and gradually it became a place I returned to every day. Without realizing it at first, this neighborhood offered a quiet connection—one that did not require fluency in language, only presence.

As my sense of alienation slowly found a place to rest, I began to photograph Chinatown daily. Walking the same streets, observing people, storefronts, gestures, and light, the act of photographing became part of my routine. These images are documentary records of that daily movement, but they are also reflections of my inner world during that time.

This series is not only about Chinatown—it is a record of how I learned to see, to belong, and to exist within a foreign city. Through these photographs, I trace the emotional landscape of my early years in San Francisco, where distance and familiarity quietly coexisted.

( some of the photographs from this series are part of the permanent collection of the Kiyosato Museum of Photographic Arts in Japan and Hong Kong heritage museum. Photo metro magazine award, United states . )