Alex Kerr: A Taste of a Better Japan

Exterior and interior views of Chiiori in Iya. The main room with its wooden floors is dominated by a traditional irori, or fireplace. The house is popular with families, who can rent the entire house and enjoy the experience of living in it for a few days as if it is their own home. (© Alex Kerr)

The famous vine bridges of the Iya Valley: a sight now to be seen only in out-of- the-way places in modern Japan.

A keen art collector, Kerr is a frequent visitor to antique shops specializing in Edo-era texts and the traditional Japanese arts.

At work restoring a traditional house in Iya. Kerr keeps a close personal eye on the restoration work.

“How the techniques of Japanese tourism can be used to liven up boring foreign tourist sites.” These sardonic photo montages were made for Nippon keikanron, Kerr’s book on the Japanese landscape, as a humorous way to show readers the scale of the problem. (Courtesy Shūeisha Shinsho; © Alex Kerr)