Tokyo is a cool place. And you want to see its best photo spots, right? That’s great because I want to show them to you. But, I’ll tell you something. It isn’t cheap. Let me tell you about it.
My main source of income is English teaching. When I first came to Japan in 1991, I earned good money from it. Full-time salaries were around around ¥300000 per month in those days. Now they are around ¥250000. And that’s if you are lucky. You can see positions on the internet for far less. Things also get worse!
With the weak yen, many Japanese see learning English as a luxury. Going overseas is expensive now. The cost of living in this country is skyrocketing. Student numbers are falling. With less demand teachers have moved to a gig economy. Everyone I know makes a living by juggling several jobs. I do that too.
Money is tight. But I need it to create the articles for Tokyo in Pics. Here are some of my costs:
- Entry fees are expensive to various places. For example, Tokyo Skytree is ¥2100 just for the lower deck! Many other places are the same.
- Transport (I need to catch trains, buses, and even taxis)
- Camera gear is expensive and needs to be replaced when it is damaged or breaks.
- All the photos on this website are edited. I pay subscriptions for Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop. The website itself needs to be paid for too.
- If I take a day off work to attend an event (e.g. Tokyo Game Show, Tokyo Marathon, etc.) it’s at my expense.
And these are only some of the expenses. There are others of course. They burn a huge hole in my pocket. It’s hard to keep up at times. What I earn from my various jobs doesn’t always cover everything.
Sometimes I can’t go to events because of the cost. That needs to change. I want to show you more of this city through my photos. Don’t you want to see more?
And that is my dream, to make this website my full-time job. I want to spend every day creating material here for you to consume. It’s a big task, but Tokyo is completely worth it!
So, I’d like to ask you for help. If you value this website and want to see it continue to grow, would you support me? I hope you will say yes! Please use the QR code below or this Stripe link to give.
Yours sincerely,
Rohan Gillett
P.S. Look at my About Me page if you want to learn more.