Contact

Give us a shout. Or better yet, share your story with us!

Name(required)

Email(required)

Website

Comment(required)

Join the conversation
Instagram
Twitter
YouTube

Instagram

“I will always be a minority in every country I go to. I’m Punjabi but I was born and raised in Birmingham, England. My parents are both from East Africa, grandparents all from India. In Japan, I’m a foreigner obviously. But being a minority here doesn’t matter as much as it does in the UK. I think the UK is institutionally racist. From the police force, to the courts, to everything. The way they stop people. The way they will harass you. After 9/11, I was a 15-year-old school boy, and I was being called Bin Laden in the streets by people. I used to laugh it off. But these are grown men saying this to a teenage boy. When I’m in a whiter part of town, I almost get into fights at pubs just because I’m different. Here, even though I’m big and dark skinned, I don’t feel like I stand out as much. Japanese people will show love to you, regardless. Don’t get me wrong, not everyone in England is racist. But I’ve not experienced anything that has been even slightly uncomfortable here. I don’t see a woman grab her purse across the road when I’m walking towards her. I don’t get any issues in the airport here. People say I got a chip on my shoulder, but it’s not the case. I mean, Brexit has basically validated racism against people. You think Brexit is about the EU, but they talk about Africans or Asians or non-White people. It’s justified being able to say whatever they want. Japan, on the other hand, I feel less on edge here. I don’t feel like the police are trying to stop me all the time.”. . . . "Never following fashion, tryna find my own way with my passion." (@sandeep__86 has been teaching English in Japan for a year. He also dabbles in music and photography. Check out Mellow Deep - Departures on iTunes or Spotify). . . #humansoftokyo #humansofjapan #イギリス人 #イギリス #共生社会 #visitjapan #lifeinjapan #tokyo #Brexit #storytelling #tokyointerlopers #sakura #diversitymatters #agameofportraits #Japan #diversity #diversityandinclusion #Punjabi #documentary #tokyolife #minority #portraitphotography #storyofthestreet #racism #Japanese #Brit #英会話 #桜 #外人 #外国人

"I was a single mother in California when my son told me he wanted to study Japanese. So I let him, and after he graduated from high school, we both came to Japan for two months using money I saved up. After that, my mother got sick and died, my son went to college, and I found myself totally alone. Then I came back to Japan and taught English. It was difficult. Coming here at 44 years old. Most people who come here are young men who learn Japanese from their girlfriends. I struggled with the language and spent a lot of time alone. And when I got sick of the city, I moved to a quiet beach area where I would talk to fishermen and other locals. . "There are some things foreigners pick up from Japan that the Japanese forget, especially in big cities like Tokyo. The culture here is to be kind to people because that’s your job. But I think that cultivates a sense of togetherness. I have close friends here from all over the world. If I go home, then I won’t see them anymore, so I stay in Japan. Even though I can’t vote and they can kick me out anytime, I’ve fallen in love with this place. Right now I’m a freelance writer and content developer. But I’m also trying to restore some of their local community centers in deep rural areas. I’m even learning about permaculture. All the young people in Japan are moving to the cities while old people are dying. Stop running to the cities. Go back to the countryside. Find out how much you can live off wild plants and mountain vegetables without buying anything. I don’t know why Japan is so worried about trade. All the resources the world needs are from the Earth. And Japan has good soil. They have everything." . . . . . #humansoftokyo #humansofjapan #アメリカ人 #singlemother #共生社会 #visitjapan #lifeinjapan #tokyo #womenstories #storytelling #tokyointerlopers #tokyophotography #diversitymatters #agameofportraits #Japan #diversity #diversityandinclusion #womenportrait #documentary #tokyolife #tokyocameraclub #portraitphotography #storyofthestreet #permaculture #Japanese #freelance #ruralarea #公民館 #外人 #外国人

“I was so burned out from work. The stress was too much to handle that my stomach would hurt and I wouldn’t be able to come to work. When I went to the hospital here in Japan and even in France, the results showed my body was fine. So it was just all in my head. Meanwhile, the responsibilities and extra work kept piling up to the point where I was missing my targets (I oversaw marketing but also had to expand the business to French speakers). I tried to push back and every time I did, I was promised things would improve the following year. But it never got better, and this went on for three years. Worse, because I couldn’t reach my goals or quota, I was let go, which actually turned out to be a huge relief. I figured out what I wanted to do with my life. My boyfriend and I had a light-bulb moment and now we go on road trips in Japan, documenting landscapes and the culture. If you’re wasting your time, stuck in an office in Tokyo, maybe you should consider changing your lifestyle. The real Japan has so much to offer—mountains, beaches, farms and forests. Having a monthly paycheck is great. But better save money so you can be free from this modern-day slavery. I saved a lot so I was able to not work for six months and figure out my next step after I got laid off. You also need to go outside, learn and meet new people, if you want to strike it on your own. This used to ring hollow, like a quote from the internet, but now it makes perfect sense to me.” . You can follow their journey: @80joursjapon . #humansoftokyo #tokyointerlopers #外人 #外国人 #フランス人 #gaijin #humansofjapan #tokyo #東京 #French #lifeinjapan #empoweringwomen #internationalwomensday #Japan #gaijinlife #フランス #mystory #portraitphotography #diversitymatters #instajapan #inspiring #共生社会 #worldpressphoto #storyofthestreet #street_photography #streets_storytelling #womenstories #photojournalism #entrepreneur #wu_japan

Today in Japanese street fashion 今日のストリートファッション. . . . . . . #日本人 #Japanese #japanesefashion #streetfashion #Japan #日本人 #ポートレート #chasingemotions #portraitphotography #humansoftokyo #storyofthestreet #gothic #東京 #humansofjapan #lifeinjapan #tokyo #tokyointerlopers #ourstreetdays #urbanromantix #urbanandstreet #ゴシック #街撮り #カップル #渋谷 #visitjapan #japanawaits #streetphotography #ファッション

Are you a tourist?. . "No.". . Can I take your picture?. . "Sure.". . Can I get a smile?. . *Smiles*. . .Then he walked away, continuing to take snaps of people in the streets of Shibuya. . . . . . . . #humansoftokyo #humansofjapan #everydayjapan #urbanphotography #urbanromantix #urbanandstreet #共生社会 #shibuya #visitjapan #lifeinjapan #tokyo #biginjapan #storytelling #tokyointerlopers #diversitymatters #agameofportraits #Japan #diversity #diversityandinclusion #blackpeople #黒人 #documentary #portraitphotography #storyofthestreet #photographer #街撮り #gaijin #外人 #外国人

“I had to go through a lot of disappointment, a lot "no’s", before getting to where I am in my music career in Japan. I came here after college and it was a total culture shock (even though I used to stay here as a kid since my dad was in the military). I got stared at all the time, I got lost all the time, and I couldn’t speak the language well. On top of that, I was dead broke—no savings, no money. I was relying on my mom, who let me sleep on the floor of her tiny apartment till I was able to get on my feet (my parents are separated). And I hate to say this about myself, but I’m kind of a quitter. If I’m not good at something, I quit. I quit running track, I quit dancing, I even quit girl scouts. But music is the one thing I never quit. I eat, sleep, and breathe music. Plus, I didn’t have many friends growing up so singing was like my best friend. So my mom took me to her gigs (my parents were heavily involved in the music scene in Japan), introduced me to people, and said, ‘Wherever we go, no matter what, you have to be ready. You have to sing on the spot.’ Some people embraced me, some didn’t. It took a while to finally start getting regular gigs. But once I was in there, I was in there pretty much. So now I’ve been touring, singing backup vocals for Japanese artists. I recently did the soundtrack of a video game that blew up and became popular. I also regularly sing at lounges, night clubs, weddings, special events, grand openings…I’m all over the place pretty much. Thankfully, mom and dad were very supportive. They’d always say, ‘You have what it takes’ or ‘You got this.’”. . . . @jniquenicole is an extremely talented singer based in Japan. Give her a follow if you’re curious about her music. . . #humansoftokyo #humansofjapan #アメリカ人 #singer #シンガー #歌手 #jpop #共生社会 #下北沢 #visitjapan #lifeinjapan #tokyo #biginjapan #womenstories #storytelling #tokyointerlopers #tokyophotography #diversitymatters #agameoftones #Japan #diversity #diversityandinclusion #blackpeople #黒人 #womenportrait #documentary #tokyolife #tokyocameraclub #portraitphotography #storyofthestreet

Join the conversation

Join the conversation

Post to

Cancel