In late 1999, photojournalist Mary King and IT systems analyst Etsuko Shimabukuro began to get itchy feet. Back in 1996 they had completed a two-year trip that took them through three continents. This time they decided to stay closer to home.
As soon as the Golden Week stampede of early May is over, they will set out to spend a year walking the length of Japan in a project called Japan on Foot (Nihon Toho Taiken) to raise goods, funds and awareness for HELP, a center that serves as a refuge for women and children -- Japanese and non-Japanese -- who are victims of domestic violence and abuse.
At the same time, they will be collaborating on writing and photographic projects. King has at least 10 book ideas up her sleeve, though with journalistic assignments in Japan and the U.K., she'll be happy if she completes half this number.