It's late November and Japan is in full holiday-season mode. That means orders are starting to go out for Christmas Eve dinners of fried chicken and strawberry shortcakes, and preparations are also starting on traditional osechi ryōri dishes for New Year's Eve.
It's not as much of a feast for a sizeable portion of Tokyo, however. An aging society and increase in part-time employment have left some worrying about preparations for weekly meals, not to mention those during the holidays. Food banks such as Second Harvest Japan have therefore played a significant role in helping those who need extra support and, luckily, there's a way that all of us can support them.
Mike de Jong, a university lecturer and guitarist from Canada, will be teaming up with Second Harvest to host a fundraising event on Dec. 3 at What the Dickens, a pub in Tokyo's Ebisu area. His band, Instant Karma, will be there performing covers of pop classics like R.E.M.'s "Losing My Religion," as well as a few original songs.