Playing All the Angles

Racing along rooftops, somersaulting over walls… JASON PAUL gets to know the world’s cities from a unique perspective. Here, the German-born freerunner shares insider tips on Tokyo, the vibrant Japanese capital that has become a second home

Words ROLAND HAGENBERG

Photography MIKO LIM, EMILY IBARRA

Jason Paul is in flight, his arms spread wide, his legs tucked beneath him, travelling freerunner-style between two staircases, 5m above the tarmacked road below. This is how the 27-year-old moves around the city – like an action hero, or a member of the X-Men. He runs up walls, scrambles over flat roofs and conquers sheer drops. A second after pushing off from the staircase handrail, he lands behind the one opposite, steadies himself by placing his hands on the concrete floor for a second, then turns and grins, giving a thumbs up.

The staircases lead up to residential buildings in a Tokyo side street, and Paul is giving his sign of approval to Miko Lim, the US-based photographer who’s following the German freerunner around his adopted home city to document his energetic escapades. Paul increasingly finds himself spending long periods in the Japanese capital. “Tokyo’s architecture is amazingly diverse,” he says. “From the minimalist to the bizarre, traditional to modern, there’s really a bit of everything. The variety constantly gives me fresh impetus for new moves and tricks.”

From two-storey wooden houses and steel and glass skyscrapers to concrete bridge pillars, an incredible number of Tokyo’s structures are accessible from the outside via exterior staircases, abutments or flat roofs. And these are exactly the sort of opportunities that Paul is always on the lookout for. Whether he’s training or just out shopping, he’ll find a potential new route up into the unknown of Tokyo’s rooftop world that’s too tempting to ignore. The freerunner is constantly scanning his environment for new surfaces to use, and, as a consequence, forever rediscovering the city from new perspectives.

Paul first dreamt of Japan in his childhood bedroom in Frankfurt. Back then, when he wasn’t out doing acrobatics off handrails or flying over park benches with his friends, he devoured manga comics. Inspired by the cult 2001 film Yamakasi, in which the action scenes rely on parkour skills, Paul began training every day in his neighbourhood. There was no freerunning scene in Frankfurt at the time, so he had to teach himself all the moves. His perseverance paid off, and the German is now considered to be one of the world’s best freerunners. But individual tricks don’t appeal to Paul: he wants to develop complete choreographed pieces, like in his 2016 YouTube video Last Call For Mr Paul, which has now had more than 50 million views. It shows him performing daredevil stunts in an attempt to catch a flight at Munich Airport he’s in danger of missing. Though it’s a work of fiction, there may be truth in it – Paul is always travelling. He hasn’t had a permanent home for a long time now, instead preferring to move from one metropolis to another: Marrakesh, Sarajevo, Sydney, Bangkok and, most often of all, Tokyo.

In addition to the appeal of its diverse architecture, Paul is attracted to the city for its local freerunning scene – and the unique style it fosters. Global Japanese stars such as Kenichi Sato and Yakuwa Jumpei are famed for their particularly fluid movements; every one of their choreographed pieces comes across like a unique dance. They have long since accepted Paul as one of their own, inviting him to train at their parkour venues and appearing in his films. In 2017’s Jason Paul Goes Back In Time, for example, local freerunners chase Paul through the Edo Wonderland, a cultural theme park done out as a traditional temple complex.

But Paul doesn’t require such a filmic location – he can transform any part of this city into an adventure playground whenever he wants. And so images capturing Paul’s artfulness and energy also show another side to the Japanese capital, one that’s lesser known, far from the tourist spots. And Paul’s gravitydefying superpowers make him the perfect person to offer Tokyo travel tips that even mere mortals can benefit from.

Ramen with hip hop, a park for parkour, and an island with a view: Paul’s top tips for a weekend in the Japanese megalopolis

The perfect park for freerunners and lovers of other urban sports

“From the outside, it looks like a regular park, but Hanegi Park, in the otherwise fairly unspectacular district of Setagaya, is one of my favourite parkour locations anywhere in the world. It’s just overflowing with colourful stairwells and little walls, making it the perfect training location for freerunners. Tokyo residents chiefly use Hanegi Park for sport. There are a couple of tennis courts and it has its own running track, too.”

Stare in awe at sumo wrestlers riding their bikes, then leap into action at the Sumida River

“I go to Ryōgoku [in the north-eastern district of Sumida] at least once per visit to Tokyo. It’s the area where all the sumo wrestlers live, and I could sit all day on a bench at Ryōgoku Station, watching these giants cycle through the streets in their noble robes and wander past in their geta [wooden sandals]. I’d probably do it even if there wasn’t a brilliant parkour location just around the corner, too. Right on the embankment of the Sumida River, there are the perfect walls, steps and stairwells to train on. It’s also a good spot to eat your packed lunch by the edge of the water. Recently, there was an office worker sitting there who was so engrossed in his laptop that he didn’t even notice me and my freerunning mate Kenichi leaping within a whisker of him.”

Even a hectic city such as Tokyo can offer laid-back moments if you know where to find them

“We freerunners aren’t all that complicated generally, but when it comes to clothes we have very specific needs. That’s the reason why a couple of colleagues and I started our own label, Farang. Our stuff is urban, simple and practical at the same time, making it perfect for our sport and anyone who’s into our style. But what’s that got to do with Tokyo? Well, there’s almost nowhere in the world that influences our designs as much as the secondhand shops in Shimokitazawa [in the western neighbourhood of Setagaya]. It’s my absolute favourite district of Tokyo, because the place has such an incredibly relaxed atmosphere. I recommend that you go shopping at [used clothing store] Meadow by Flamingo, then, when that’s done, stop off at Gravy Gyoza to try the little fish balls. After that, you should head to Mother Bar for drinks and nachos.”

It’s not easy climbing into 43°C water, but it’s worth it

“If my Japanese fellow freerunners have taught me anything, it’s respect – respect for each other, but, first and foremost, respect for your own body. As a sportsman, I’m reliant on mine, and being a freerunner too, it has a lot to put up with; all the jumps and the landings on hard ground, in particular, take their toll on the joints in the long-term. When I’m in Tokyo, I regularly go to one of the traditional bathhouses – or sentō – such as Sengokuyu by Hatagaya Station [in Shibuya] to offset that. OK, so it’s never easy climbing into 43°C water, and my body is as red as a crab when I get out again. But no sooner do I step back out onto the street than I feel reborn.”

Skyscrapers and wooden houses are all well and good, but Tokyo’s side streets are where it’s at

“The thing I like most about Tokyo is the variety. Shinjuku is a perfect example – an area full of skyscrapers with traditional wooden houses nestling at their feet. One of these houses, right behind Shinjuku Station, is home to Tajimaya Coffee, my absolute favourite café. Ideally, you drink your coffee at the dark counter like the locals, and then head off straight back out into the fray. Then turn into the first side street and drift through the back alleys with all their hidden shops.

A ramen joint in Shibuya where hard noodles and hip hop unite

“Almost everyone knows Shibuya, chiefly because of the crossing used by 15,000 people every time the light turns green, and no one coming to Tokyo for the first time should miss out on seeing it. But that’s not my tip. A 20-minute walk away is Usagi, which is my favourite noodle-soup joint. I would recommend the special ramen with pork and bamboo shoots. First, you order by machine, and then you have to make a critical decision when the waiter asks if you want your noodles ‘soft, thick, flat or hard’. The noodles are really great, but I almost come more for the hip hop that is always blasting out of the speakers. The owner is the brother of hip-hop producer Jun Seba [aka Nujabes], who died in a car accident in 2010. He’s a legend in Japan now, and I’m a huge fan.”

What the tourists on the leisure island of Odaiba don’t see

“Odaiba [in Tokyo Bay], with its 20m-high Gundam robot statue and artificial beach, isn’t a secret in the truest sense of the word: tourists flock to the island, especially at the weekend. But as a freerunner, I see overcrowded spots from a different perspective. Right by the water, there are little walls and red stone seats that are perfect for jumping off and supporting myself on. From here, you have a beautiful view of passing ferries and the Tokyo skyline. My favourite structure on Odaiba is the Fuji TV building, partly because of the wide steps and handrails for jumps, but mostly for its architecture – it looks like some clunky, futuristic, Sovietera command centre. Visiting Odaiba is a trip to a retro view of the future, starting with a ride across Tokyo Bay on the driverless Yurikamome Monorail. Get a seat right at the front – if none are free, wait for the next train.”

A bookshop to lock yourself away in – and not just for the manga comics

“When I’m in Tokyo – as in any other city – I upload videos of my freerunning sessions to YouTube; I also post to Instagram and Facebook. So I spend a lot of time on my smartphone and at my computer, which is why it’s an even greater pleasure to go to Tsutaya Books at T-Site in the designer area of Daikanyama [in Shibuya]. The labyrinth of wooden shelves houses a huge selection of books in Japanese and English, and one of the upper floors has a collection of 30,000 vintage magazines. I could lock myself away for hours.”

Instagram: @thejasonpaul