JAPAN WITH OMC HAIRWORLD FOR TAKARA BELMONT’S 100th ANNIVERSARY
I don’t even know where to begin and I’m not much of a writer so bare with me. I’ve been working with OMC Hairworld since early 2019, so it was a no-brainer when Vincent asked me if I wanted to come to Japan to shoot an event they were producing and also to celebrate Takara Belmont’s (a platinum sponsor of OMC Hairworld) 100th anniversary.
Traveling to take pictures is a dream come true and this was an experience that I am extremely grateful to have been a part of.
My trip started when I left Boston for NYC the day before leaving the states. I checked into my hotel, soaked up NYC for a few hours with my girl and then went to Osteria Delbianco for dinner with OMC Hairworld CEO Vincent Fodera. I think I’m a regular there now thanks to Vin.
Myself, Vincent & Gianni Fodera at JFK International Airport
Before the sun came up I was off to JFK international airport in a cab with Vincent and Gianni Fodera. 3 hours at the airport and a 15 hour flight later, we landed in Hong Kong for a short layover and ironically, had a drink and snack at a Boston sports themed Irish bar. Thats right, I had a beer at an Irish bar called “O’Brians” at an airport in Hong Kong that had pictures of Tom Brady and Pedro Martinez on the wall. I wasn’t intentionally being un-cultured, it was literally the only place open 😂 . Off to Tokyo we went.
Honestly, the airport story from Tokyo is a book by itself and certainly one I’ll save for another day. We almost didn’t get into the country. After a 4 hour hiccup at the airport in Tokyo we were finally off to Yokohama in the middle of the night via taxis. At this point I had totally lost track of how long this trip had actually taken.
Waking up in Yokohama and being so far from home was a surreal feeling. After grabbing breakfast at the hotel Vin, Gianni and I decided to grab a taxi and go to the largest Chinatown in Japan just a few minutes from the hotel. I was blown away by the cleanliness of everything and the hospitality everybody showed us everywhere we went. Later that night we had a beautiful welcoming reception at a ballroom in the hotel as guests trickled in from all over the globe. The great food, drinks and company really foreshadowed the rest of the trip.
The following day I walked around Yokohama by myself for a few hours and shot some street photography. Later that night the OMC board of directors and myself took a bus from the Intercontinental Grand to an undisclosed location about an hour away for a private and intimate dinner at Mr. Yoshikawa’s (CEO & Chairman of Takara Belmont) summer home. His staff prepared an amazing meal while he gave us a brief tour of his home. We all took turns sharing things that we were grateful for since most of us would be arriving back home on Thanksgiving morning. Some sooner than others considering almost everybody was returning to a different country. I could go on and on about this experience alone but I don’t want to bore anyone thats made it this far.
Day 3 in Japan. I ate breakfast and jumped on a train to Tokyo with my amigo Sergi Bancells. We only had a few hours before we needed to get back but we decided to take in as much of the city as we could. We stopped to eat some ramen in a small basement restaurant in Shibuya. Took a ton of pictures and had an incredible time before heading back to Yokohama to shower and get ready for a big dinner.
That big dinner was actually a gala for 150 people including the Princess of Japan, the mother of the current Japanese Emperor and many other high profile political and business leaders in Japan at the Yokohama Bay Hotel. Again, I was continuously blown away by the respect and hospitality everybody had been showing us. The food and the company were well above my pay grade. I’m not even sure what type of fish I was eating but then again I doubt I would have even known what it was if they told me. I did recognize that it was covered in caviar though. They also had traditional Japanese entertainment, comedians and live music while the food and drinks kept flowing. I lost track of how many courses it was. We went back to the piano bar in hotel where we closed out a few of our nights this week.
I woke up early the next day to shoot the ribbon cutting ceremony and the opening of TWBC2022 along with a ton of Japanese press. The convention itself was littered with futuristic tech and products that Takara is working on and or releasing very shortly. They gave us a thorough tour through all of it and then we made our way into a different exhibition hall where there was a stage with more entertainment, a buffet of delicious food and more free wine and beer. We then sat front row for a hair / fashion show that the Japanese put together. After the show ended and attendees flooded out of the convention center somewhere around 9 o clock at night, we started stage rehearsals with everybody from the models to trainers, translators, choreographers and production crew. They rehearsed until early hours of the morning, we got some sleep and met back at the convention center around 730AM to finish up rehearsals before the show started at 11AM.
The last full day in Japan, the reason we were there, the OMC Hairworld Global Symposium. You can see highlights from all of the shows OMC Hairworld put together below. One last dinner and one last night at the piano bar and I think everybody was completely wiped out and ready to head home. We said our goodbyes at breakfast the next morning and people slowly left for the airport all day.
An experience and a group of people I will never forget. Grateful.
OMC Hairworld Global Symposium in Yokohama, Japan full recapGents Mannequin headsSwiss team put on an amazing show.Battle of the Champions (Ladies)Raphael Perrier put on an amazing showItalian team put on an amazing showBattle of the Champions (Gents)