Picture imperfect: Toy cameras in Tokyo

Situated slightly beyond Prada, D&G and Cartier, the Lomography Gallery store on Omotesando road in Minami Aoyama is the Mecca of the toy camera world in Tokyo. The retro analogue camera scene has become a real trend here over the past few years, with more and more people discovering that plastic toy cameras can offer a beautiful lo-fi aesthetic not easily achievable in your standard film camera. 

Click the image above for a gallery of shots inside the store

The Lomo store, with colorful walls of photographs from all over the world, carries a wide selection of toy (and not so toy) cameras and accessories. Searching for something small, simple and fun to use? Why not try the multi-colored, multi-shot SuperSampler, ColorSplash, or maybe the Fisheye camera for some wide angle fun? If you're looking for the instant gratification of a digital camera, but with an analogue aesthetic, you might want to try any number of instant film options available for the some of the 35mm (and 120mm) cameras on offer. Or just pick up a Diana+ camera with an instant film option for immediate results.

The store has a wide range of cameras and options for you to customize your kit. For the hardcore toy camera fan there is the new Holga 6x9 pinhole (comes with 6x12 frame as well) camera, the instant back for the Lomo LC-A+, various lenses for the Diana+ (Canon EOS and Nikon adapters available) and they also carry the 120 degree Horizon for those interested in panoramic 35mm photography at a relatively affordable price.

The store, which opened to much hype from the underground film crowd in 2008, also carries a decent range of 35mm, 120mm and instant film options, offers cross-processing services to boot and, as a bonus, sells film that usually comes in packs as individual rolls (ever wanted to shoot Rollei Retro 120 but couldn't afford to buy a box of it? Now you can). While there isn't a cafe attached (there should be!), you can play with nearly all of the cameras as well as flip through the photo books on display while relaxing on comfy chairs deciding whether to splurge or not. Go ahead, waste film.

Open every day from 12-8pm (minus a few days off around New Year).

Lomography Gallery Tokyo, T4-24-8 Minamiaoyama, 107-0062 Tokyo, Japan, info@lomography.jp, tel. +81 (0)3 6418 7894.