I’m not proud of it, but I once got myself lost in Tokyo Station. After about an hour of wandering and asking people, I finally got on the train I needed to be, but yeah, I still got confused the the station’s many passages and platforms. I can say this myself after getting lost there that Tokyo Station is a maze. However, one Japanese artist has managed to meticulously sketch an X-ray illustration of that very station I got lost in. The sketch boasted so much detail that when i saw it, I said to myself, “No wonder I got lost”.

That Japanese artist is Tomoyuki Tanaka, and he has made a name for himself with his X-ray sketches. After doing furniture and Japanese museums, Tanaka has now taken on Japanese train stations. As seen above, he’s already drawn Tokyo Station, and he also sketched Shibuya and Shinjuku stations.

Shibuya Station

Shinjuku Station

His sketches really show how amazing Tokyo’s infrastructure really is. Tanaka himself talked about how he does these sketches. According to the artist, “It takes about a week to research and organize the information, and another week to draw.” Tanaka also told the website, WIRED, that “I don’t usually model on a computer before drawing, because there is no need”.

Tanaka currently has his work on display at Doboku: Civil Engineering, a new exhibition at the Tokyo gallery 21_21 Design Sight. There, the gallery will display his works, but only until 25th September.

Source: WIRED