Finding diversity and inclusion

Breaking down barriers one post at a time

Stories of People

Tokyo as seen through the lens of foreigners. Snapshots of individuals who make up the gaijin community. Immigrant workers, trainees, expats, international students, visitors, Japanophiles and others.

Visual Stories

Watch our interviews in a new video series.
Continue reading “Visual Stories” →

Humans of Tokyo

Dubbed as the Tokyo version of “Humans of New York”
Continue reading “Humans of Tokyo” →

Watch the Interview

The story behind Tokyo Interlopers. Continue reading “Watch the Interview” →

Support the Project

Inspired by what you’ve read? Share your story or help us find more voices by spreading the word.

You can also help us produce quality content by sponsoring us on Patreon.com

Thank you! We appreciate your generosity!

Support us

Drive to Strive

June 23, 2018June 23, 2018

“When I was 11 years old, my high school in Haiti got attacked. People literally came with guns and started shooting. My mom got scared and sent me to America. I thought I was on vacation, so on my return date, I was packing my bags but then my uncle told me I’m not goingContinue reading Drive to Strive →

LGBT Ally

June 22, 2018

“Before coming out to my friends, I was very confused. Not knowing what to expect, especially how my friends would react, held me back. With my family, it’s different because it may hurt them, upset them, or make them worry about my future. Fortunately, a friend of mine in Hong Kong came out to meContinue reading LGBT Ally →

Happy to Help

June 18, 2018

“My dad is Venezuelan; my mother is French, and they met in the U.S. while they were exchange students in Philadelphia. They got married and moved to Venezuela together, where they had my big brother. Now things aren’t going so well there in Venezuela. Prices are skyrocketing. You must wait a long line to getContinue reading Happy to Help →

Growing Pains

June 18, 2018June 18, 2018

**日本語訳は下をご覧ください** “I come from Ecuador. I’ve been living in Japan for the last 15 years of my life. I met my Japanese wife at a salsa club, where I was taking dance lessons. That’s where I pursued her relentlessly for half a year before she finally fell for me. Now we have kids. The olderContinue reading Growing Pains →

YOLO

June 14, 2018June 14, 2018

“It was a very sporadic moment in my life where everything was very stable. I had a great job and was surrounded with a great group of family and friends. Yet it felt like a bigger part of my life was missing. It just seemed all too predictable. I kept seeing people around me makeContinue reading YOLO →

Making an Impact

June 8, 2018June 15, 2018

**日本語訳は下をご覧ください** “I came to Japan to get a chance to be together with my dad. He was always away since I was two years old. He would only come home to Romania for a maximum of six months a year, then he’d be off again to play jazz and classical music in Japan. He’s aContinue reading Making an Impact →

Lovesick

June 7, 2018June 7, 2018

“My grandparents were taken from California and put in various internment camps, then they moved to Chicago. My Great Granddad actually came to the United States from Japan, my family stayed there and everyone married into the Japanese community that was already there. There was a lot of difficult history in that period with theContinue reading Lovesick →

Feminism in Japan

May 24, 2018May 26, 2018

**日本語訳は下をご覧ください** “I like telling women’s stories and I think Japan is a very interesting place for that because the feminist movement is not as progressive as other countries. I come from a fairly liberal country in terms of women’s rights (although we’ve got issues as well, like all countries do). In New Zealand, we’ve justContinue reading Feminism in Japan →

A Life of Learning

May 22, 2018May 22, 2018

**日本語訳は下をご覧ください** “I like being an African woman so much, I wouldn’t trade it for anything else. I like being in Japan but for the first year I had culture shock. My first year, I couldn’t eat Japanese food, but after all that, my life in Japan began to have meaning. Being an African woman, sometimesContinue reading A Life of Learning →

Pape San

May 21, 2018May 27, 2018

**日本語訳は下をご覧ください** “Before coming to Japan and Korea for an internship, I wasn’t sure how people would see a black guy like me in public places, like onsen (hot spring or public bath), or in the streets. That stressed me out a bit. Also, I noticed a lack of information on the web about life hereContinue reading Pape San →

Passion and Patience

May 16, 2018May 17, 2018

**日本語訳は下をご覧ください** “I grew up in post-communist Romania, which is so different from when my parents were growing up in the 80s. It was a tough time. They’d get about two hours of television per day, with one hour dedicated to propaganda. Even though people had money, they couldn’t buy anything because there was literally nothingContinue reading Passion and Patience →

Bouncing Back

May 5, 2018May 5, 2018

**日本語訳は下をご覧ください** “When I was 17, I had brain surgery for pituitary tumor. Luckily, it was benign. But it affected my day-to-day life. Before, I was very active in sports, like soccer, and was basically a jock, even though I don’t look like it. My memory also got messed up. I don’t remember certain things inContinue reading Bouncing Back →

A Multicultural World

April 20, 2018April 20, 2018

**日本語訳は下をご覧ください** “My father is Mexican and my mother is Japanese. Growing up in Mexico, some people would call me Chinita, which actually means Chinese. Aside from that, I never really experienced any discrimination because of my heritage. Although my whole life, there was this nagging feeling that I wasn’t completely Mexican. “As a kid, myContinue reading A Multicultural World →

Rare Experience

March 17, 2018March 20, 2018

**日本語訳は下をご覧ください** “Elderly Japanese women seem to have taken a liking to me. One dark and rainy day, a sweet old lady waved to me and said, ‘Come inside the umbrella or you’ll catch a cold.’ Then another time, while I was staring at the moon by myself to wait for the lunar eclipse, some middle-agedContinue reading Rare Experience →

Different Expectations

March 14, 2018March 14, 2018

**日本語訳は下をご覧ください** “I’m originally from Korea but moved to Canada and lived there for about 15 years, so I consider myself more Canadian than Korean now. I work in the legal industry and I practice law. I think I blend into Japanese society to a certain extent, which is why I like confusing people. Even thoughContinue reading Different Expectations →

Master of My Fate

March 9, 2018March 9, 2018

**日本語訳は下をご覧ください** “I’m from Bangladesh. I quit working for my family business to come to Japan. I knew I could do so much more than just sell shoes. Someone once said, ‘You are the captain of your ship and master of your fate.’ That really struck a chord with me. So when I got a scholarshipContinue reading Master of My Fate →

Bicultural Boundaries in Japan

February 25, 2018February 26, 2018

**日本語訳は下をご覧ください** “The half-Japanese community in Japan is really strong. We seem to band together. Maybe because there was a film made in 2010 about half-Japanese people that brought everybody out of the shadows. Suddenly people who grew up in a bicultural, biracial household have other people to talk to about these things. That bondsContinue reading Bicultural Boundaries in Japan →

Bento Bureau

February 12, 2018February 14, 2018

**日本語訳は下をご覧ください** We always wanted to make a podcast and where we can take advantage of the international environment of our university.We wanted to create a platform for people to come together and talk about Japan from an international perspective. That’s basically what we want Bento Bureau to be. Everything is done by students who areContinue reading Bento Bureau →

Starting a Family

February 7, 2018

**日本語訳は下をご覧ください** “When he got a job offer in Japan, I must admit I wasn’t so crazy about the idea. Sure, we were looking for a change and to go overseas. But seeing how Japanese people are shown as workaholics in the news, I was reluctant to move here. We thought their strict work culture wouldContinue reading Starting a Family →

Live Life With No Regrets

January 21, 2018January 27, 2018

**日本語訳は下をご覧ください** “When my father died of lung cancer, I realized I needed to do something with my life. He dedicated his entire life to his family and left nothing for himself. My mom once told me he didn’t buy clothes for himself for years, so his kids could have a good education. Thanks to himContinue reading Live Life With No Regrets →