Photographer Taro Hirano selects travel gear at Shibuya PARCO.

Plain:I think we found a good one.

Plain:The camera is heavy, so I want to keep everything else as light as possible. . and something that is not bulky. . In that sense, I thought high-performance outdoor goods would be nice.

Plain:I guess the influence of my generation was huge, and I had the image that if I went to Shibuya PARCO, I could find something fashionable. Even if you don't buy anything, you can absorb something just by looking at what is there. It still feels like the center of Shibuya.

Plain:When I was a university student, I went to the Parco Gallery and saw the "THE MAD BROOM OF LIFE" exhibition by photographer Kyoji Takahashi. I was quite shocked and wondered if I could exhibit there someday. Also, although I am not much of a fashion person, I was very much inspired by the culture.

Plain:First of all, it's a packable fishing rod.

Plain:I look at where I'm going and the men who will accompany me, and if I think I might go even a little bit, I put it in my suitcase.

Plain:I took it to Ireland , and you took it to Hokkaido . It's from an American garage brand. It's nice, isn't it?

Plain:I don't need to catch any fish at all . . because it feels good just to cast. . when I fish where I go, I feel more deeply committed to the place. . That leads to a sense of satisfaction.

Plain:It's a bit of a cover-up, but it's a packable parka from HOUDINI. I wear this when I don't want to be reflected in the scene.

Plain:. It's not quite 10 years old, but it's pretty old. I got it when I went to Sweden, where HOUDINI is headquartered, for a magazine tie-up. I still use it today. I always keep it in my camera bag.

Plain:This bag is from Miyagawa, located in Musashikoyama.

Plain:After the shoot is over, when we go back to the hotel and go out for a meal together . I always carry this in my suitcase. I've been using it for 7 or 8 years.

Plain:. When Corona started, I went to Perth, Australia, for a photo shoot.

Plain:I go to the same places all the time, so I'm not at all. I have never even been to India.

Plain:People who like to travel go to India, don't they (laughs) .

Plain:I haven't been there for 4 or 5 years now . I used to go there often before that.

Plain:I guess the place I feel closest to is Los Angeles. . but I like the small countryside in the suburbs rather than the fashionable parts of the city.

Plain:If it's domestic, it's Hokkaido , after all. By the way, most recently, we went to Higashikawa in Hokkaido , although it was a family trip. My son wanted to go skiing.

Plain:. that's what I was thinking about. . First of all, I am interested in the Ainu culture and the fact that it is still being passed down today. And Hokkaido was not settled until the Meiji era, so its history is still young. . Perhaps that is why Hokkaido still has a lot of simple and bare land. The composition of the land is very similar to that of the United States. I think I am attracted to that kind of roughness in a good sense. I think it is the same reason why I am attracted to the U.S. rather than Europe.

Plain:When I first became a Corona member, I thought that there were many fun places to visit in Japan and that I didn't need to go abroad, but recently I have been wanting to go abroad so badly. When I thought about what this feeling was, I realized that I simply wanted more input. If I go abroad, I will meet completely different people and see completely different cultures. There are so many things that I can't imagine. But if I stay in Japan, I become hardened, and I want to loosen that. I want to relax that kind of thing. It is fine if I am in a town and wonder, for example, "Why is this placed here? I want to feel and absorb the discomfort that is lying around.

Plain:I know it's sticky, but I still think Los Angeles is the place to be. San Francisco is also nice. . I'd like to wander around in a car, a small rural town in California.