Tokyo Brits cycling Japan to support tsunami survivors

On April 19th, nine Tokyo Brits (www.TokyoBrits.com) will venture forth from the pub, suck in their stomachs, and wrap themselves in Lycra in preparation for a 300km bicycle journey from Tokyo to Minamisoma over 3 days, aiming to raise at least ¥1,000,000 (USD$11,000) to support the Save Minamisoma Project.

Remember March 11, 2011? For those of us in Japan at the time it is a day we can never forget. It was the day that a devastating magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck off Japan's Pacific coast. Over 19,000 people were killed by the resulting tsunami, which also damaged or destroyed over 1 million buildings including the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Reactor.

It is easy to believe that almost 2 years after that terrible event that life must have returned to normal for the survivors, but nothing could be further from the truth. As of 1st January 2013, 305,000 people are still homeless including almost 7,000 elderly residents living in temporary shelters, many without income struggle to purchase food and water.

Immediately after the disaster The Save Minamisoma Project (www.saveminamisoma.org/) was set up by a group of volunteers who rely on generous donations to purchase and distribute supplies of food and water to those most in need. Their great work continues today and it is this work that the nine intrepid Tokyo Brit cyclists are supporting and they need our help.

Its hard work to get a Englishman to put down his beer, step of the pub, and onto a bike (even harder to make him wear Lycra) unless he is motivated by a worthy cause, and there are few as worthy as this. Another motivator for the chaps will we watching the donations come in and reading the comments that arrive with them, so please do visit their homepage consider making a donation.

Please help the Brits and the Save Minamisoma Project, to help those still in need of support by making a donation.

Finally I'd like to ask you to spread the word about this charity ride through your social networks, share it, tweet it, like it and lets see if we can exceed the target amount!


Our friends at Cleverhood took advantage of a Tokyo by Bike advertising offer which sees that 100% of the money they paid for advertising on this site goes to charity. I have just donated $50 of that to this cause. Please support with as little or as much as you can.