Megutama

When you’re one of the nation’s foremost photography critics and historians, with a career going back three decades, storing the photobooks you inevitably accumulate is going to present a problem. Kotaro Iizawa’s altruistic solution was to open this unique space in Ebisu, where he welcomes the public to come and browse around 5,000 titles from his vast collection, while enjoying drinks and home-cooked seasonal dishes. Wooden shelves spanning two entire facing walls are connected by beams that run across the ceiling, giving the impression of sitting within a giant bookcase. Megutama’s collection stretches back to the dawn of photography, and is constantly being added to as important new works are published.