Enriching the World
of Photography
The history of cameras begins with the camera obscura, a dark box with a pinpoint hole. Along with the invention of silver halide printing, which creates images by exposing light to paper, this “dark chamber” invented as a tool for landscape drawing led to the small mechanical device for directly recording the visible world that has become a means for expressing the full-range of human creativity.
Today, everyone has a camera in their smartphone, and photos are a ubiquitous part of daily life and a form of communication. So, why not enrich our lives by fully appreciating this thing that we now take so much for granted? With this in mind, Kitamura Camera sees photography as a vibrant world that goes well beyond cameras, lenses, and other photo equipment. Kitamura Camera is a place where we share with our customers the complete photography experience: taking photos, preserving photos, camera care, new encounters, knowledge, relaxation, and building a camera community.
Our store logo takes the “K” of Kitamura and transforms it into a band of refracted light, the fundamental source of photography. The logo also expresses the intersection of people and creativity. In Shinjuku, a gathering place for photography enthusiasts from all over the world, Kitamura Camera provides a whole new kind of photography experience on a scale never seen before. 
Taking Photos
We can’t stop time. So, we have a camera at the ready for when we want to feel the joy of stopping time and recording a precious moment in a photo.
We want to capture passing time: exhilarating moments, awesome scenery, warmhearted times, unforgettable memories, and even landscapes that exist only on our imagination. Indeed, the camera has evolved because of the images and moments that we want to capture and remember.
Someone somewhere is yearning to take a photo. Kitamura Camera is here to support their aspirations.
Preserve
Behind every photograph is a photographer who stopped the flow of time at that moment. A photograph is time itself. It is a part of someone’s existence.
It is an image preserved in film, print, a hard disc, or in a digital space. The increasingly diverse ways that we take photos has also diversified how we store photos.
Kitamura Camera is here to help you recapture time for whatever the recording medium may be. Besides print media such as film, we download and print smartphone and other digital data, transfer video recordings to other media, digitize photos still in analog form, and much more.
Never let special moments fade. We have the knowledge and technology to help you do just that.
Camera Care
Whether a camera, car, airplane, or something else people become attached to machines. A camera is a precision machine made by people. Despite lots of love and maintenance, breakdowns happen. And who hasn’t had an unlucky accident over the time they’ve spent together with their favorite camera?
Because they love their cameras, every camera lover wants to keep his or her camera in top condition.
We hold your camera in our arms with the goal of being the best doctor possible. We take repairs seriously because we know how you feel about your camera.
Chance Encounters
A chance encounter with something you really want just happens. Whether a top-of-the-line camera you’ve longed to possess or some no-name but cherished camera that you somehow acquired and now find hard to let go, it always starts with a chance encounter. With that in mind, we have put together an outstanding lineup of products even by global standards to make Kitamura Camera a place for encountering cameras from around the world.
Of course, just as there are first-time encounters there are also partings of the way. Meeting and parting are always two sides of the same coin. When parting with a beloved camera that has been the source of great memories, it is only natural for camera lovers to want to leave it behind in a place where they know it will be in safe hands.
If we can make Kitamura Camera a place for wonderful first-time encounters and partings of the way, we’ll be more than happy.
Knowledge
Operating a camera requires knowledge and skill. Taking good photos requires creativity. That’s why photography is an intellectual journey combining knowledge and creativity.
To further enrich your photography adventure, we have put together a selection of books and magazines from around the world to help you navigate the boundless world of photography. What’s more, we strive to make our bookstore a place in tune with your intellectual photo adventure by hosting events and photo sessions aimed at polishing your skills, live interviews with guests that stimulate your creativity, and more.
Our bookstore enriches your photography adventure by bringing things and ideas together in one place.
Relax
A quiet time alone. Having fun with a good friend. Allowing yourself to become lost in a favorite activity and engaging in lively conversation are among the joys of life. Amid the clamor of Shinjuku, Kitamura Camera is a place where you can come face-to-face with cameras quietly and alone and a place where you can engage in casual conversation. Even relaxation is part of the world of photography. At Kitamura Camera, we feel that time is precious.
Building a Camera Community
Being devoted to cameras and photography means you like all kinds of things. It means you like cameras and that you like handling them. It means you like cameras as mechanical objects. It means you like particular brands. It also means you like photographs—black & white photos and silver halide prints, landscape photos and railroad photos. And because you like cameras and photos you also like the people that you meet in that world. We want Kitamura Camera to be a community that brings all these “likes” together in one place.
