It’s finally here *o* The long awaited Kariya Yuiko aBUTTON photobook (plus new newest number of BOMB magazine)! I’ve long had my eyes on this PB and weren’t sure if I should buy it or not, but as I couldn’t find it anywhere on the net so I decided to buy it as well as support one of my current favorite actresses. And am I glad I did! 
This photobook may be a tad small and doesn’t have that many pictures (only 85 actually), but that really doesn’t matter because it’s pictures with KARIYA YUIKO and gorgeous ones too~ I’m sort of fascinated by this aBUTTON series’ simple but stunning concept for each of their releases. Kariya Yuiko’s PB theme is “Tabi” (which means “Journey”) and through the photobook I could sort of sense this theme, but more like it’s an emotional journey perhaps. 
In most pictures Yuiko doesn’t smile but instead she has a neutral, almost thoughtful expression. There are shots taken both in the countryside, the city and on empty roads as well as indoors in what could look like Yuiko’s own bedroom. The color schemes throughout the photobook are quite contrasting as they go from warm summer colors in some pictures to black and white as well as very washed-out colors in other pictures. However, I think these contrasting colors make the photobook an interesting experience. Now apart from all the technical details, let’s talk about Yuiko’s look in this photobook! ^^ I like how they gave her a more unpolished look compared to the usual pretty-pretty look in magazines. 
Her hair is sort of wild and messy in most pictures and she wears quite light make up which gives her a very natural look. I almost think these photobooks strive to present us the most natural look of these “natural beauties” (check PLUP’s homepage for other aBUTTON photobooks). I’m also relieved to know they actually do release girls’ photobooks in Japan who not have to contain at least 5 different bikini shots – but then of course I know this isn’t an “idol PB”… ^^;
Some of my favorite pictures in this book are these four.
I like the first picture for its universal expression; it’s just Yuiko standing there wearing simple white and black clothes in front of a wall of an old traditional building, maybe a 
temple. I think it’s simpleness but graceful style makes it a very attractive picture in my opinion.
The second picture is one of the two “Yuiko by the car” pictures which ended up as some of my favorites. With this shot though I was probably caught by the slightly surprised, adorable expression Yuiko has, as if she was caught off guard while looking inside the expensive car. Otherwise I just love her beige clothes in this picture as well as the dreamy background~
The third picture is in black and white and shows a close-up of Yuiko. Because it’s in black and white you focus even more on the facial expression this time. I like the kind of fragile face she portrays in this picture, it’s almost touches one a bit. Then of course she also has those beautiful doe eyes which you just never get tired of! ♥
The last picture is the second of the two “Yuiko by the car” pictures I chose as one of my favorites. This is just a beautiful two-shot photo. One of the things I like best about it is probably the lighting. It sort of makes Yuiko glow and really gives a glamorous feel to the picture. Then again as I mentioned earlier, I really like the clothes she wears in this car scene. They are in a quite classic style and feminine, yet not boring at all.
So my final evaluation is that I think this photobook has a really good natural feel as well as containing a sophisticated style throughout the whole book. And then of course nothing can go wrong with someone as stunning as Kariya Yuiko being on every page – so really glad I got this~
Scanned the photobook as well for all the cheapskates Kariya Yuiko fans out there ;) (Took me two hours o_o) Click the picture below to get it, password: yuikoforever 
The BOMB magazine was also quite nice, even though it only contained ONE PAGE with Kariya Yuiko in it, and still she was tagged in the product description! I think that’s a bit misleading… Anyway, here’s the page as well as some other ones I liked.
The magazine came with this two-sided poster of Itano Tomomi as well.
I’m not really interested in her, so if anyone wants to buy this please leave me a comment below ;)
