To provide an imaging method in which high-quality imaging not dependent on a surface state of a body to be imaged can be carried out highly efficiently.

There are set an imaging process in which a thermal transfer film and an intermediate transfer recording medium are overlapped, and heated like an image with the use of a heat source, thereby forming an image to an imaging layer of the intermediate transfer recording medium; and an image transfer process in which the imaging layer of the intermediate transfer recording medium having the image formed is overlapped to a surface of the body to be imaged, and heated with the use of a heat source, thereby transferring the image together with the imaging layer to the body to be imaged. At least one buffer member is arranged between the heat source of the imaging process and the heat source of the image transfer process in a manner to contact a face of the opposite side to the imaging layer of the intermediate transfer recording medium. The imaging onto the intermediate transfer recording medium in the imaging process and the transfer onto the body to be imaged in the image transfer process are carried out concurrently.