Japan Tsunami

March 2011
Honshu, Japan.

Having spent almost 10 years living in Japan, I was there when the 2011 Tsunami devastated the east coast. While foreign nations evacuated their citizen’s, my close friend Jay and I loaded a van with first aid and basic food supplies and drove 1000km to reach the most devastated villages. Arriving before the Red Cross or the military, this was a small relief effort that changed the lives of many.

The day following the tsunami we decided that we would try to do something to help. Japan was in crisis, relief efforts we stalled due to fuel shortages and thousands of remote villages were cut of. After a few phone calls we'd procured a van from a friend and word of mouth quickly meant that locals from our village were dropping by with supplies and donations. We loaded the van and ignoring the heightening nuclear crisis we set of for the island of Honshu from our home in Hokkaido. Catching the ferry across we arrived on the west coast near Akita and drove to the west coast arriving in Otsuchi where, four days after the tsunami, half of the villages inhabitants were still missing.

The Shashin Shimbun - A collection of images from the pristine wilderness for Hokkaido. A joint project between Aaron and his apprentice and long time friend, Yasuyuki Shimanuki.

Check out some of the print and media publications from this expedition.