Japan Photo Guide has just announced a tour and travel experience for Japan during the 2012 cherry blossom season! The 2012 cherry blossom forecast hasn’t been released yet, but the details of small group tour to Japan are available.  What makes this tour special is the fact you get to travel around Japan with 2 guides, one a professional photographer and the other a Japanese tour guide.  Both of which have extensive travel experience and have lived in Japan.  While the tour is designed for photographers, spouses and friends that aren’t photographers are welcome to join as well.  Especially because there are two guides, this makes the tour more flexible if there is need to spilt up from time to time if the photographers are moving along at a different pace than others… Anyone who has traveled with their photographer spouse or friend knows exactly what I’m talking about!  To keep the tour intimate and special for everyone, there are only a limited number of spaces, only 8, so don’t miss out on this special experience!

Please take 5 minutes to watch this video before reading my post, make sure to watch to they very end:

 

 

It’s been more than a month now since the tsunami destroyed the lives and washed away entire cities in literally a matter of minutes.  As somebody with a personal connection to Japan and directly with Miyagi, Japan, I’m still heartbroken and I am not sure if I will ever really get over this.  What I am feeling is nothing compared to what those still over there are feeling.  We don’t know what is going to happen with the nuclear plant in Fukushima, but I do know that the news is taking a lot of attention away from where it needs to be now: the people of Northern Japan. For probably 99% or more of the public, there is nothing we can do to help the nuclear power plant, but everyone can donate a little to help the victims in Northern Japan. Some numbers to consider:

 

• 13,456/14,851: Confirmed deaths and still missing.
• 100,000: Number of estimated orphans from the tsunami.  They didn’t just lose their parents and families, most lost EVERYTHING (yes I know typing all caps is like yelling and annoying).  All of their possessions.  Some don’t even have anything to remember their families by.  Some don’t even have their own hometown anymore.  Please take a moment to think about that.  Think about literally having everything you own, everything that is important to you, taken from you 7 minutes from now, without warning.
• 4 days:  The donation totals after 4 days, Haiti–150 Million, Katrina–108 million, Japan–23 million. After two weeks, Japan had received an estimated 161 million, 11 weeks after Katrina, 2.7 billion had been privately donated.
• 309 billion:  Estimated damges, Japan 309 billion dollars, about 4 times the estimated damages in Katrina.

 

I mentioned the orphans, but many families, mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers, are in very similar situations.  Those lucky enough to have escaped with their lives, a lot of them have lost everything else. Again, I ask you to think about losing everything that is important to you and furthermore, if everyone in your town lost everything as well.  Whether you are kid or an adult, how do you cope with that?  You can’t by yourself.  You need others to help.  Time to be honest.  I’m not saying that prayer isn’t helpful nor denying that prayer can be very powerful, but your prayers aren’t enough.  If prayer was all that was needed to get things done, the world would be a lot better off.  Please continue to pray for Japan, but if you haven’t found another way to help besides prayer, I beg you to consider finding a way donate to Japan.  Japan needs our help.   Even if it means you don’t drink your daily coffee for a day or two (or week) or one less drink while going out, maybe share a meal with somebody one day, anything you can afford to send to Japan will be helpful. There are so many easy ways you can save a few dollars to donate.

This is an excerpt taken from my professional photography blog. The full post on why I believe that only your prayers are not enough to help Japan is here.

JapanEmergencyusc@state.gov
12025014444
@travelgov

Other than that, a couple of people have already made some great posts with resources and links. Instead of me copying them, just go check out their sites:

http://gakuranman.com/great-tohoku-earthquake/
http://www.survivingnjapan.com/2011/03/earthquake-in-japan-links-resources.html

• I got married and went to the French Polynesian for my honeymoon
• started my own photography business
• become addicted to Twitter
• fell into koiwai milk coffee depression
• started preparing to giving photography tours of Japan
• caught up with friends and family
• tried ton katsu in just about every Japanese restaurant in my area and was disappointed every time.
• as much as I miss teaching, traveling, living in Japan, I never want to live there again
• as much as I never want to live in Japan again, I want to visit as much as I can afford (strange huh?)

Those are the main highlights that I can think of. I still have a lot of images from Japan to post on this site, but recently all my time and energy has gone to my wife, family and my photography business. Hopefully I will update again… within a year!

3rd Prize:
Geo Peter

2nd Prize:
Risparmiainrete

Grand Prize:
gLf

Congratulations to the winners and please contact me about how to get your prize!

Prizes:
There will be 3 prizes. Grand Prize is $209 by way of PalPay. 2nd Prize will get two 8×10″ photos of your choice from my gallery and 3rd Prize will get one 5×7″ photo of your choice from my gallery.

Rules/Requirements:
The contest will last until Saturday, March 28th 2009, 11:59pm EST (I will check the time of the comments), unless I do not have at least 200 entries and if that happens I will extend the contest until I get 250 entries (don’t think this will be a problem though). Most importantly….

You have to leave a comment so I know how you entered. No comment = no entries, no exceptions. Also, if you win the Grand Prize, you must have/sign up for a PalPay account (it’s free). PayPal is the only way I can pay the winner.

There is no maximum for number of entries and the winner will be selected using Random.org If you entered my last contest by adding links, you are still eligible for this one for adding the same links, as long as the links are still there AND you leave a comment on this post to let me know.

How to enter:
Get one entry for doing each/any of the following:

• Add the following link to your blogroll: Photography of Evan Pike
• Add the following link to your blogroll: Japan Daily Photo
• Subscribe by email to my feed using the following link: Subscribe to Japan Photo Guide by Email (make sure pop up blocker is off or it may not work)
• Digg, Stumble or use any other social sharing service to share a post from Japan Photo Guide. Up to two entries maximum for this one.

Get three entries for doing each/any of the following:

• Add the following link to your blogroll: Evan Pike Photography Blog
• Add the following link to your blogroll: Babibubebo Friends
• Add the following link to your blogroll: Japan Photo Guide

Get five entries for doing each/any of the following:

• Write a short blog entry about this contest and link back here.
• Write a short blog entry about any photo of mine from the gallery at Photography of Evan Pike. To get a copy of the photograph, click the “Share Photo” button which is above the photos in the galleries, then click on “get a link” for different size options.
• Write a short blog entry about any previous post on Japan Photo Guide and link back to the post you found it on. You can even write one disagreeing with me if you want.
• Write a short blog entry about any previous post on Evan Pike Photography Blog and link back to the post you found it on.
• Spend less than $10 at Photography of Evan Pike.

Get 10+ entries for doing each/any of the following:

• Spend more than $10 at Photography of Evan Pike for 15 entries. Buy any photograph, gift item (like a cup, magnet, puzzle, and so on) or combination of both and for every $10 you spend, you get 15 entries. Spend $20, you get 30 entries!
• Contribute to Japan Photo Guide for up to 20 entries! You can write about any place in Japan or about Japanese culture…even if I have already wrote about it. You get 10 entries for just submitting it to me by email (not submitting it by comment but you still have to post a comment on this post to make sure I received your submission) and another 10 bonus entries if your post is good and I decide it makes the cut. I may or may not use it before the contest is over, but if I accept it, whether I post it before or after the contest ends, you will still get the 20 entries. 150 word minimum, MUST BE YOUR OWN ORIGINAL WRITING, photographs not necessary and by submitting to me, you agree to let me use and post it here on Japan Photo Guide. You will be given credit and a link if you have something you want me to link to.

Good luck with the contest, check back for updates and let me know if you have any questions!