I always carry this old photograph of my grandfather with me.

The handsome guy with the white shirt enjoying a huge tartine is my grandfather. He drowned when I was only two years old, so I never got the chance to meet him.

In the 1970s he had a child with a Japanese woman. This child, my uncle, must be around 40 years old today. I don’t know his name; I don’t know where he lives; I don’t know how to find him.

And yet I decided to look for him.

I am traveling through Kyoto, following my grandfather’s footsteps, with the hope of finding information about my uncle. Even though I am far from home, I feel more connected to my grandfather than I have ever been.

~shared by @looking_for_my_japanese_family