San Francisco… The Journey Begins

Posted by | March 19, 2013 | Making Tohoku Tomo, Trip Diary | 3 Comments

The journey has begun.

Yesterday our crew arrived in San Francisco (Wesley and Tim from Chicago, Phil from Los Angeles) to being the journey ofTohoku Tomo. Over the next two weeks we will be traveling to Japan and interviewing individuals and organizations that are making an impact in Japan and helping with the ongoing recovery efforts.

As we headed out for our first interview this morning we were ecstatic to learn that we hit our $7,500 Kickstarter goal. Words cannot say how appreciative we are of the now over 100 people who have generously donated to make this documentary a reality. To have met the goal before we even left was very encouraging to our team — thank you all so much.  Although our Kickstarter goal is $7,500, our working budget for the project is currently at $10,000,  so your continued support is still needed! Please continue to help spread the word about this project and share these updates and stories with your friends or those you know who have a heart for the Tohoku region of Japan!

Today we spent the morning in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park in the Japanese Tea Garden talking with Canon Purdy. Canon was in the town of Minamisanriku on March 11, 2011, the day of The Great East Japan Earthquake. In the interview, she shares her story and the incredible spirit of the Japanese people in the face of adversity. Upon returning to the USA, she and her family founded Save Miyagi, a non-profit dedicated to helping Miyagi and Minamisanriku rebuild. Based in San Francisco today, Canon exemplifies everything that this project is all about. We can’t wait to share her story with you.

Below is a video update from the day from Wesley and Canon. We are headed to the airport bright and early tomorrow morning to make the 11-hour flight to Tokyo. We’ll be staying there overnight Wednesday and head north to on Thursday to get settled in with our hosts and hit the ground running to tell the amazing stories of Tohoku Tomo.

Don’t forget to follow this blog throughout our trip, we hope to be updating daily. Also, you can follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram and see what’s happening play-by-play.
Thank you all for your amazing support. We couldn’t be doing this without you. Please continue to show your support!

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