Beach Pigeons

As part of the series “Social Misfits: Portraits from Japan”

Social Misfits: Portraits from Japan is a photo series and collection of interviews exploring what it means to stand outside the norms of Japanese society. Japan is often described as a country of harmony, order, and tradition — yet within that structure are individuals who choose a different path or choose to express themselves in ways that resist social norms.

We spoke to Naoise about growing up in Yamanashi and living in Japan, and how model making has become a space for fun and self-expression. For him, building models is about customising, painting, and making something his own. He describes it as detailed, hands-on, and playful — a process that reflects his belief that “fun is life,” and that creativity is something to be enjoyed and lived with.

Scroll to view the full gallery and read our interview.

Full Gallery by Isabella Fowden

“Fun is life. You only have one life, you’ve got to have fun with it” – NAOISE

Where are you from?
Naoise: Yamanashi, Japan. I was born and raised in Yamanashi.

How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
Naoise: Fun is life.
You only have one life, you’ve got to have fun with it.

“I don’t really fit in but I push myself in, kind of bare with it.” – NAOISE

What are your favourite things to do?

Naoise: Gaming and making stuff. Like Lego and plastic models. And eating.

Why do you enjoy model making so much?

Naoise: It’s fun, you can customise it, you can paint it, you can make it your own model. And it’s fun to build, it’s so cool and so detailed.

How do you see your future?

Naoise: I still have no clue about what I want to do with my future. It’s the reason I go to college, to figure out what I want to do with my life. I do want to be rich so I can buy lots of model making kits.

Do you hope to live and work in Japan forever?

Naoise: Not forever, I kind of want to look around. It’s so big out there I don’t want to keep myself in one country.

What do you think makes you, you?

Naoise: Cheerful! Am I cheerful!
Maybe I should ask someone what they recognise me as.

In one sentence, what is your favourite thing about Japanese culture?

Naoise: The creativity.

What is your favourite Japanese word or phrase?

Naoise: やらない後悔より、やる後悔. Yaranai kōkai yori, yaru kōkai. You’ll regret not doing it, instead of regret dojng it. if you regret not doing it you’ll hold onto it forever; if you regret doing it you’ll learn something from it.

What’s one thing you would want people to know about you?

Naoise: I’m not scary. In school people said I looked scary cause I looked serious.