Please feel free to use our Pray for Japan image on your site
It has been designed by Lactose Intoler-Art!

A man in Sendai quietly reads the newspaper
He was waiting with some 1800 others for buses
to drive them out of the disaster area

Firefighters look for victims in Arahama, Sendai City

Little remains of Arahama in Sendai City after the tsunami
washed away houses, infrastructure and people

After a new tsunami warning I took shelter on a roof with Japanese firefighters looking for victims

Firefighters look for victims in Arahama, Sendai City

Children play among the ruins in the village of Ayugawa on the Oshika Peninsula

Kumiko Fukui (53, right) and a friend look for personal belongings

A man walks through the ruins

In the village of Ayugawa the ground subsided by 70 cm

Mickey Mouse smiles forlornly in the ruins
I hope to soon get back to bringing you the latest street fashion from Harajuku again
Until then, please enjoy our previous images, or follow me on my trek through Japan’s disaster area
About the PhotographerInspired by the stunningly creative street fashion that exploded on the streets of Tokyo and Osaka in the late 1990’s, photo-journalist Kjeld Duits launched JAPANESE STREETS in 2002. This makes JS one of the first fashion blogs on the net, and the very first to cover Japanese street fashion.
Recent photos by Kjeld Duits:
@Kjeld Duits Hey! I knew you would be here in Miyagi covering the earthquake and tsunami. The photos are really unbelievable. It’s so sad what happened. My husband’s family is living in a town for about an hour away from Sendai to the North. A few days before the quake we went to Tokyo to search for an apartment, since we will move there from April. We were on our way from Tokyo back to the family home by bus on 03/11. We were having a break in Tochigi at a parking lot when the quake came. It was really scary. That day it took us 18 hours to get to Sendai by bus. The streets were really jammed. You can read my blog entry on how we experienced the quake and it’s aftermath if you have any time and if you are interested.
Are you still here in Miyagi? When are you going back to Tokyo? Anyhow, please be careful while taking photos.
gionbaby
Mar 20, 2011 (4341 days ago)
Kjeld Duits (photographer)
Mar 20, 2011 (4341 days ago)
This video with info isn’t mine, but in the description it lists all the numbers you can text and from where. $10 will automatically be added to your phonebill.
Thank you for the pictures! Although no close relations of mine live in Japan, I’m praying all the same for all the wonderful people. It’s so sad that this happened in such (for lack of better word) an amazing place. My friend’s father is also in Japan at the moment, covering the earthquake. He was going to be there for a few days, but extended his visit to several weeks.
Are the earthquakes still coming? Stay safe! Keep taking amazing photographs!
Flightofthehumblebee
Mar 20, 2011 (4341 days ago)
the building of so many nuclear reactors in a country like Japan, which has so much seismic activity, was incredibly irresponsible. I’m so sorry for all of you – all my love…
Japanese Fashion Follower
Mar 20, 2011 (4341 days ago)
Thank-you for the excellent photos, the close up ones are astonishing. The news will be really bad before it improves I’m afraid although I’m recently heard from my host family and friend so they are alright, thankfully. Japan, I wish you safety and much better days :)
Tragic Angel
Mar 20, 2011 (4341 days ago)
Hola, me encanta esta página, excelentes fotos. Me da mucha pena que esto este pasando, esero que esten bien y que todo mejore, mis mejores deseos para ese hermoso país. ánimo #praforjapan :)
Pauli
Mar 20, 2011 (4341 days ago)
@Kjeld-Glad to see you are still safe and everything is ok. Stay as long as you need to, your fans aren’t going anywhere. The situation is really crazy and critical..And I personally would like to encourage everyone to not only pray for and think about Japan, but to also do whatever you can to help out. There are various charities and art auctions, etc that will be happening in order to make that possible..I think its going to be a long recovery for the Sendai area, but even a long emotional recovery for the rest of Japan.
Thank you so much for using my artwork for this cause. I hope that it can be used for good somehow. And Kjeld, I wouldn’t normally do this, (feel free to edit this out, and I won’t post a link) but for people that are indeed interested in ways of donating/art auctions, etc..I have a new section up on my blog that lists lots of creative and fun ways you can all get involved.
Stay strong Japan, we love you.
Lactose Intoler-Art
Mar 20, 2011 (4341 days ago)
I think it’s really brave of you Kjeld to go and take pictures in Sendai only one day after the earthquake, I appreciate it a lot. It’s hard to get to see pictures from the disaster area, but whenever I see some I get scared of how terrible they got hit. I have donated a little this month to Japan, but I plan to donate some money each month, as I don’t have that much money. I hope a lot of people donate money to Japan so that the Japanese can get back on their feet as soon as possible!
I’m going to miss Japanese Streets updates, but I fully understand why it’s impossible for you to update the site atm. – Thankyou for your wonderful work.
Keekii
Mar 20, 2011 (4341 days ago)
I feel for all those affected by this tragedy. I wish I could send a print I made, “Japan we care” to everyone in Sendai…hope things get better soon.
Ella
Mar 20, 2011 (4341 days ago)
Kjeld Duits (photographer)
Mar 20, 2011 (4340 days ago)
Kjeld Duits (photographer)
Mar 20, 2011 (4340 days ago)
@Kjeld: Thank you for sharing my blog post on your Facebook pages! I just started following them yesterday.
I’m in Osaki city (大崎市) around an hour away by car from Sendai to the North. I wish I could go and help people somehow in the tsunami affected region, but we are really short on gasoline, so I don’t know how could we get there. Can you buy gasoline in Yamagata? Here it is really hard to get. Are you travelling every day to Sendai and further to take photos of the disaster area? Where are you heading next? How long are you planning to extend your stay? As you are going to the disaster area every day since the earthquake happened, do you think there is anything we could do if we would/could go there somehow to help? As we have to move to Tokyo until April we have not too much money left to donate, but do you think it’s better to donate than to go there and actually try to help somehow? I know that people’s safety is a top priority, but I heard that a lot of pets and animals are left behind too. I’m concerned about them. Do you know anything about that?
gionbaby
Mar 20, 2011 (4340 days ago)
What can be said, except that I admire, respect and adore the Japanese people. I am from the other side of the planet, in Madrid, and I am at a loss to know what to do to help. Donating to the Japanese Red Cross is fine, but it seems so little when so much needs to be done.
akiko
Mar 21, 2011 (4340 days ago)
Kjeld Duits (photographer)
Mar 21, 2011 (4340 days ago)
Please be so kind as to refer to my link: http://divinephoenixegg8.blogspot.com/2011/03/pray-for-japan.html
divinephoenixegg8
Mar 21, 2011 (4340 days ago)
gosh i feel so bad for the jap people :((( thats why we should be thankful for our blessings.
zzd
Mar 21, 2011 (4339 days ago)
I definitely pray for Japan. Like the majority of people I was deeply sadden when I heard about what happened in Japan. I wish the best for all the people of Japan.
My Linh
Mar 22, 2011 (4339 days ago)
I hope that with all the donations and helping hands we can rebuild Japan, but the emotional pain the disaster has caused will take longer to heal. Just pray and we should definitely all work together in Japan’s time of need. Even the small things count. <’-’<)
Trinity
Mar 22, 2011 (4338 days ago)
Tofu
Mar 24, 2011 (4337 days ago)
I send my love and my prayers. It’s truly a tragedy. But Japan is a strong country—it will bounce back. ; )
Dominique Martin
Mar 24, 2011 (4336 days ago)
Thank you for these images! Seeing pictures and following your blog help make the situation more real for me. I won’t necessarily say this is the same for ALL Americans, but I feel that as an unaffected American, especially as a North Texan American who has experienced neither an earthquake nor a tsunami, it is hard for me to understand the situation completely, but being able to hear of it from one’s first hand account is very helpful. Also, today in my Economics class, we watched a video someone in Japan recorded of the tsunami in action, and i was shocked. Generally, when I think of a tsunami, I think of vicious waves crashing on buildings and destroying everything. But then, I actually saw what it was like; how the water moves so quickly, and how it is, in essence, like a giant flood.
@Kjeld: You’re a brave man, and I respect you for what you are doing. Stay safe!
Etsune
Mar 24, 2011 (4336 days ago)
All my thoughts to you and Japan. I send all my prayers there and hope all the best for the future <3…
Tokyobanhbao
Mar 29, 2011 (4332 days ago)
Kjeld, I find it inspiring that young cartoonists from around the world are rallying around Japan with their art. http://beautifuldaze.blogspot.com/
emme
Mar 30, 2011 (4330 days ago)
hi. i have been following japanese streets for over 6 months now and this is my first time posting a comment. It is the only thing that gets me through the day as a student librarian (you can imagine my pain). I love japan and have been really interested in moving there sometime in the future and not even a record breaking earthquake and multiple tsunami’s can change that. I would like to say that what you are doing is really great and got to me. As much as i love the clothes you post, this shows your deep love for japan and that resonates to me and im sure to all of your fans. Thank you and can’t wait for the next installment of your pics :D
ruth
Apr 1, 2011 (4329 days ago)
All my thoughts to you and Japan. I send all my prayers there and hope all the best for the future. And I am doing prayer to god.
noleggio monitor
May 12, 2011 (4288 days ago)
God bless… the last picture really… I gotta say
shoppingfromchina
May 16, 2011 (4283 days ago)