Akihabara in the Rain

A smoking area by the river

I was feeling rather disappointed when I snapped these photos, because I only had an hour to explore Akihabara, due to a last-minute change of plans, and because of the dreary, rainy weather that day. The streets were mostly empty except for a few maid-cafe waitresses who were standing outside to welcome customers despite the rain and wind.

Looking at them now, I'm glad that I got to see another side of Tokyo - rain makes everything look so different - and these turned out to be some of my favourite shots from the trip.

(Canon AE-1 + Kodak Gold 400)

Ariake, Tokyo

Last month, I visited Japan for the first time, with my family. While we were in Tokyo, we stayed at an apartment in Ariake. Although it wasn't the most convenient location - it's a 40-minute train ride away from Harajuku or Shibuya - it was nice to be able to return to this quiet neighbourhood at the end of each crowd-filled day.

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After looking through my many folders of unposted photos several times, I gave up on posting them chronologically and decided to just start from my most recent trip. More to follow!

Socks for Japan

(image from j.crew)

I found out about Socks for Japan from a friend and I think it's a wonderful initiative - practical yet meaningful.

The idea is simple: anyone can send new, clean socks to Jason Kelly and his team who are based in Tochigo, Japan. They then package the socks and send them out to the people who need them.

Socks are important because many people flee barefoot and they are often forgotten in favour of large items like blankets and jackets. The team also encourages people to enclose a care letter, because words can bring much comfort. There's even a care letter help page, so you can write one even if you don't know Japanese.

Of course, cash donations are extremely important (you can give directly to the
Japanese Red Cross Society here) but if you'd like to help in a tangible and direct way, in addition to giving money, this is a really great avenue to do so!

Also, if you live somewhere that's far from Japan, you could gather a few friends, combine your postage and send a big package together. That's what my friends and I are doing.

Even if this seems like a small gesture, every bit of help counts! Let's continue to help Japan and keep them in prayer.