Ukraine Journey, Episode 1: photographer Shion Nakamura walks through Odesa in this solo travel documentary. An overland journey from Turkey to Ukraine. Damaged buildings, the sound of generators, markets open as usual, and a wedding. His footage and photographs record a city where traces of war and everyday life share the same streets.
▼ Continue to the next episode｜Episode 2: Zaporizhzhia and Kyiv https://youtu.be/fZpdpJY3S5Q
▼ Watch the series from Episode 1 (all 3 episodes) https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE1_8e2Mg5N4
▼ Episode 3: Kharkiv and the journey home (Finale) https://youtu.be/yYsp7f8JdEo
At Istanbul's bus terminal, Shion cannot find a ticket to Ukraine. He travels through Bulgaria and Romania, then from Chisinau, Moldova, to Odesa.
A man he meets at a church guides him along streets lined with buildings damaged by attacks. Generators run on street corners, people shop at the market, and a couple gets married. Destruction and ordinary life exist in the same city. Shion records what he sees through a photographer's eyes.
Then comes the night he leaves Odesa. This is the beginning of a 19-day journey through Ukraine, told in the three-part series "Life Beside the Battlefield."
▼ Chapters 0:00 Prologue 0:59 Istanbul: no bus tickets 3:35 From Chisinau to Odesa 4:41 Odesa: a guide from the church 7:40 The sound of generators in the city 8:25 Shion's photographs 9:47 The night he leaves Odesa 10:25 Next episode preview
▼ Traveling photographer Shion Nakamura A photographer who paints with a camera X: https://x.com/sionn_cab Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sionncab/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sionn_cab
▼ KANI Filters Shion Nakamura is a KANI Filters ambassador. Shion Nakamura special discount coupon 5% off KANI filters, official website only Coupon No. 0908 https://www.loca.design/
▼ More journeys with Shion Nakamura Photographs from a journey on foot around Japan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPKg6aE9DAI Photographing Nachi Falls without tourists (Wakayama / Kumano) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmKOGRpPSUI Shion Nakamura playlist https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvoOf22P4-zk7fTFARJy9MqrKUxQTkFRC
▼ Starting points outside Ukraine Esenler Bus Terminal (Istanbul, Turkey) https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=Esenler+Otogar%C4%B1+Istanbul Chisinau North Bus Terminal (Moldova) https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=Gara+Auto+Nord+Chisinau For safety reasons, maps of filming locations within Ukraine are not included.
▼ Production A documentary recording the everyday lives of people in wartime Ukraine. Filming and photography: Shion Nakamura Structure and editing: Saruko Filmed in March 2026. Street names and other details of affected locations have been withheld for safety.
