Source: Peatix

*This event will be held exclusively at the venue. Please come and experience the realism that can only be experienced at the venue. (There will be no live streaming or archived streaming.)

Why do people travel? Why do people continue to drift?

Naoki Ishikawa is a photographer who travels the world, from remote areas to urban areas, and continues to present his work. Kazuhisa Toba teaches and writes at cram schools, credit-based high schools, and alternative schools, but also travels whenever he has the chance.

Their new books will be published in late August 2025. To commemorate the publication of these two books, SPBS Main Store will be hosting a talk event featuring Ishikawa and Toba.

In 2024, Ishikawa became the first photographer to successfully climb all 14 of the world's 8,000-meter peaks, and in his new book, "The Last Mountain" (Shinchosha), he realistically describes the changes in the times brought about by a new generation of Sherpas and the current social and historical situation in the Himalayas, based on his own experiences.

Toba's new book, Shining Summer: Traveling But Still the Same (Shobunsha), presents a new style of travel literature based on the indescribable experiences he encountered on his travels around the world, from Java to Havana, Sri Lanka, Mexico, Assisi, Dover, and Crete.

At the event, they will share their thoughts on each other's new books and delve deeper into why they continue to travel and their "drifting nature."

Ishikawa and Toba have a place to return to, but they never stay there.

"The Last Mountain" and "Shining Summer" -- a dialogue about travel and drifting, where two journeys intersect.

We look forward to your participation.

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■ Date and time: Wednesday, September 24, 2025 19:00-20:30
■ Venue: SPBS Main Store (Terrace Kamiyama 1F, 17-3 Kamiyamacho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo [MAP])
■ Participation fee (first 40 people): 2,750 yen (tax included)
*Books can be purchased at the venue on the day.
*A signing session is scheduled after the talk.

<Guest>

Photo：Andrea Cossu
Naoki Ishikawa
Born in Tokyo in 1977. Photographer. Graduated from the Doctoral Program at the Graduate School of Fine Arts, Tokyo University of the Arts. He continues to exhibit his work while traveling to all sorts of places, from remote areas to urban areas. He received the Photographic Society of Japan Newcomer Award and the Kodansha Publishing Culture Award for "NEW DIMENSION" (Akaaka Art Publishing) and "POLAR" (Little More). He received the Domon Ken Award for "CORONA" (Seidosha), "EVEREST" (CCC Media House), and the Photographic Society of Japan Writer Award for "Marebito" (Shogakukan). His many works include "The Last Adventurer" (Shueisha), which won the Kaiko Takeshi Non-Fiction Award. His latest works include "K2" (Shogakukan), "Shishapangma" (Heibonsha), and "The Last Mountain" (Shinchosha).

Kazuhisa Toba
Born in Fukuoka Prefecture in 1976. Representative director of Terakoya Net Fukuoka Co., Ltd., head of the cram school "Tojinmachi Terakoya," principal of the credit-based high school "Aviation High School Tojinmachi," and representative of "Alternative School TERA." In between teaching and writing, he travels domestically and internationally. His works include "Parent and Child Notebook (Expanded Edition)" (Torikagesha), "Parents and Sometimes Children" (Nanarokusha), "You Can Be the Main Character of Your Life" (Chikuma Primer Shinsho), "Cultural Theory of 'Oshi' - Connecting with the World through BTS" (Shobunsha), and he has edited and written "A Book to Read When You Don't Understand 'Learning'" (Asamasha). His latest works include "Shining Summer: Traveling Still the Same" (Shobunsha) and "That's Not Kindness" (Akaaka Art Publishing).

<About the book>

"The Last Mountain"
Author: Naoki Ishikawa
Publisher: Shinchosha (published August 27, 2025)
Price: 2,200 yen + tax
ISBN 9784103536925/272 pages
It's been over 20 years since I summited Mount Everest at age 23. My challenge to scale the world's highest and most dangerous mountains has finally reached Shishapangma, the "final mountain." In the "death zone" that refuses humans, I witnessed the immense and brutal power of nature and an answer to the question of why we climb mountains. Armed with a medium-format camera, I climbed with friends, striving to push the limits of humankind.

"Shining Summer, Even if I travel, I am still the same"
Author: Kazuhisa Toba
Publisher: Shobunsha (published August 25, 2025)
Price: 1,800 yen + tax
ISBN 9784794980113/264 pages
"Travel is the experience of entering another life. It is a movement in which you become entangled in the smells, bodies, air, time, accents, gazes, and unrelated sounds of the land, losing your shape and becoming a single map. I wanted to interact with these things while they were still alive, not with fabricated, dead relationships."

Java, Havana, Sri Lanka, Mexico, Assisi, Dover, Crete... A collection of indescribable experiences encountered on travels around the world. No matter where you go in the world, you won't experience personal transformation, and it won't change your life. But travel is always interesting. This is a completely new travelogue, a complete revision of the popular series published in Shobunsha Scrapbook, with additional new writing.

▷ Precautions
・Recording or recording the event is prohibited. Thank you for your cooperation.
・As a general rule, we do not accept cancellations due to customer convenience.
・This event will not be live-streamed or archived. Please enjoy it at the venue.

Venue