Illustrated Tokyo Storefronts by Mateusz Urbanowicz

left: Yamane meat shop (Nippori) | right: Tsuruya Tailors, now retro variety shop (Jimbocho)

Mateusz Urbanowicz, also known as Matto, is a Polish artist and illustrator currently based in Tokyo. He originally moved to Japan to study animation and comics and he landed himself a gig at Tokyo-based animation film studio CoMix Wave. He’s been working there as a background artist and animation creator where he contributed to notable titles such as last year’s mega-hit “Your Name” and the short TV anime series “Tabi Machi Late Show.”

Noike sushi restaurant (Yanaka)

But aside from his professional work, Matto creates his own art too. One of his latest projects is the Tokyo Storefront series. “When I moved to Tokyo, more than 3 years ago I was really surprised that upon my walks I encountered so many shops still in business in really old buildings,” he explains, noting that in cities like Kobe earthquakes had destroyed much of the old architecture.

So he decided to create a series of some of his favorite shops as he explored Tokyo. Included with each illustration is the name and neighborhood, allowing others to visit the same sites. And for the extra nerdy, Matto often includes links to making-of videos where you can see the illustrations come to life.

 

left: Nakashimaya sake shop (Mejiro) | right: Kitchen Kuku restaurant (Kichijoji)

You can see more of Matto’s work on his website, and he’s also on Instagram and Twitter.

Kobayashi hair salon (Sanbanchyo)

left: Chinese restaurant (takadanobaba) | right: Miyake bicycle shop (Kagurazaka and Kichijoji)

left: Isetatsu woodblock print store (Yanaka) | right: Ootoya meat shop (Koujimachi)

1 Comment

  1. That wonderful artworks !
    There is an artbook that collects them?

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