Mystery Girl in Harajuku

Also check out the picture CherryVega was taking when I took her picture (though I didn't really expect her to find out about it; see below.)

There's a bit more to the story, now.

2007.2.14: For those of you coming from Wired, "Hi", and yes, we're still together - two years and a few days now. Thanks, I think it's great as well. :-)

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Comments

bhikku says:

gorgeous!
Posted 57 months ago. ( permalink )

Shalloola says:

great picture.
Posted 57 months ago. ( permalink )

tp says:

crazy, cool!
Posted 56 months ago. ( permalink )

caterina says:

Great shot! Love the tattoo, and what is going on with all those people in red?
Posted 56 months ago. ( permalink )

matt says:

This is down in Harajuku, where all the Japanese kids with their crazy fashions hang out and have their pictures taken. That's what the girls in the red are doing. The girl in the corset is taking the photo, but was at least as interesting to look at as the ones in the red.
Posted 56 months ago. ( permalink )

kinotrope says:

Hi Matt,

My name's Cherry and I'm the girl in the corset taking the photo. Here's a link to the photo I took on that day of the girls in red:www.flickr.com/photos/17623868@N00/2503244/

I notice all your photos in Harajuku are of the Photographers capturing their subjects. Awesome Work.

Cherry xoxoxo
Posted 56 months ago. ( permalink )

matt says:

That is cool. I couldn't convince you to tell me how you found yourself, could I?
Posted 56 months ago. ( permalink )

kinotrope says:

A friend of mine linked me last night when he recognised my tattoo.

Cherry xoxoxo
Posted 56 months ago. ( permalink )

Brock says:

Wait. Let me get this straight.

A guy from Scotland goes 5490 miles to Tokyo and takes a picture of a girl taking a picture. She turns out to be from England, 413 miles away from him.

Impressive, but not all that weird.

UNTIL!

He posts the picture he took on a Website (in Canada, irrelevantly) and within 6 weeks the girl in the photo finds it?

That is truly amazing. I am deeply impressed. Any one care to calculate the odds?
Posted 55 months ago. ( permalink )

tinyblob says:

To add to that, when Cherry was linked to that image, i was visiting her from Scotland. I had signed up to flickr just a short while previously.
Very strange and very cool :)
Posted 55 months ago. ( permalink )

matt says:

I always liked this picture, add the story to it and it's my favourite that I've ever taken. Brilliant.
Posted 55 months ago. ( permalink )

kinotrope says:

It's funny because of all the photos I took that day in Harajuku the one I am taking in this photo was my least favourite - technically the photo just didnt turn out very well. But with every photo there is a story and the one I took has been given extra meaning to have found the link on here! It's awesome to have tracked the two together :):)

Cherry xoxox
Posted 55 months ago. ( permalink )

ocherdraco says:

Okay, this just makes me want to say it again: I LOVE FLICKR!

Today, I was walking around Cambridge , MA (where I live), carrying a bust of Charles Dickens on a podium, and I thought to myself, "If I were someone else, and I saw me, I would totally take my picture and put it on Flickr." As I took the statue from the theater to my house, I kept looking for stealth Flickrites...
Posted 55 months ago. ( permalink )

ivo says:

LOL!!! This is so cool!!! *Joins the coincidence party* :D
Posted 55 months ago. ( permalink )

Miss K says:

wow!
Posted 55 months ago. ( permalink )

adlaw says:

really great coincidence!
Posted 55 months ago. ( permalink )

kk+ says:

Amazing meetup... I blogged it. I imagine lots others did too.
Posted 55 months ago. ( permalink )

MY LIFE AS A HAINT [deleted] says:

there is no such thing as chance.
Posted 55 months ago. ( permalink )

daload [deleted] says:

hMm
Nice
Posted 55 months ago. ( permalink )

Robb.Astro says:

very very cool story. and a great image to remember it with.
Posted 54 months ago. ( permalink )

StarrGazr says:

Love the photo! Love the story! Agree with My Life as a Haint!

Excellent...all around!
Posted 52 months ago. ( permalink )

lucycat says:

What a trip! The story is fantastic, and the picture is delightful too. :-)
Posted 52 months ago. ( permalink )

_sarchi says:

The story was so lovely I have mentioned it.
Posted 46 months ago. ( permalink )

collette's lettuce [deleted] says:

destiny! you two should meet up or something!
Posted 45 months ago. ( permalink )

matt says:

A follow-up picture to the one above.
Posted 43 months ago. ( permalink )

NYCArthur says:

wholly mackeral!! what a great story!!!! and photo.
Posted 43 months ago. ( permalink )

TedSher says:

This has to been one of flickr's greatest events.
Posted 43 months ago. ( permalink )

RainAtDawn says:

Wow, what a fabulous story... as if the pic wasn't interesting enough itself!
Posted 42 months ago. ( permalink )

Farl says:

totally engrossed by the story. goosebumps!
Posted 42 months ago. ( permalink )

RainAtDawn says:

Just came back to tell you I added this to mysplurge. I hope you like it, and don't mind your pic being in there!
Posted 37 months ago. ( permalink )

nj dodge says:

Wow. I just followed the link from the Utata thread. This is extremely cool. I got some chills reading this, too.
Posted 35 months ago. ( permalink )

pixability says:

6 degrees of seperation...its a small, albeit huge, world.
Posted 35 months ago. ( permalink )

bobtravis says:

Best story ever! Thanks Matt... Hugs to both of you. :-)
Posted 33 months ago. ( permalink )

catscape says:

Matt & CherryVega, this is the coolest story ever. Congrats!
Posted 33 months ago. ( permalink )

King Tufu says:

that's why i love the internet.
Posted 30 months ago. ( permalink )

j_wijnands says:

Nice corset. You made it to a wired article:
blog.wired.com/wiredphotos41/
Posted 30 months ago. ( permalink )

Afulki says:

j_wijnands got in before me, was about to post the same link.

Hey Matt, congrats, that's on hell of a story!

--
Seen on the Web. (?)
Posted 30 months ago. ( permalink )

girldiplomat says:

Aww, congrats you two! What a great story... :)
Posted 30 months ago. ( permalink )

jennn says:

awww... wired led me to a great story. congrats to a great flickr-romance.
Posted 30 months ago. ( permalink )

circlark says:

Congratulations. I'm happy to say I have a similar story, although it's not nearly as intricate, and it's from the dark ages of AOL. In 99 I was getting ready to go to undergrad at GW in Washington DC. I was a big fan of Japanese comics and I needed to find a good comic shop in DC. I searched AOL profiles for 'Washington DC' and 'Japanese comics,' and I got emails for 8 people. One of the people I wrote to was also about to start at GW! We were immediately best friends and started dating on Valentines Day 2000. Seven years later, including two bouts of long-distance with me in Japan, we are getting married in September. Hoorah for successful internet relationships!
Posted 30 months ago. ( permalink )

hALi° says:

this is a great pic.....
Posted 30 months ago. ( permalink )

fixbuffalo says:

Wow...this is way cool...thanks for sharing the story!
Posted 30 months ago. ( permalink )

carwax (if you see Kay) says:

wired + flickr = true love
Posted 30 months ago. ( permalink )

seanim says:

Very cool story and a nice pic... :thumbsup
Posted 30 months ago. ( permalink )

DeepXP says:

awesome... this proves that the world is so small :) really weird but very sweet too..
Posted 30 months ago. ( permalink )

ZEЯO says:

That's a story to tell when someone ask you: ¿where did you meet your girlfriend?

i'll just add it to my faves to spread the word :D.

Happy Valentine's Day to Cherry and you
Posted 30 months ago. ( permalink )

sbpoet says:

Happy Valentines Day, you star-blessed two!
Posted 30 months ago. ( permalink )

SymbolicSymbolism says:

just read about this on wired,
and I must say What a Story!

You could make a Million dollars if you made it into a movie...
Posted 30 months ago. ( permalink )

.laurie. says:

awwww... cute story! :)

--
Seen on blog.wired.com (?)
Posted 29 months ago. ( permalink )

Si Ollie says:

Just read on wired, truly romantic story :)
Posted 29 months ago. ( permalink )

unravelling [susannah] says:

so lovely :-)
Posted 29 months ago. ( permalink )

Kelly Bates says:

lol just saw the thing on Wired as well.. what a wonderful story!

I met my partner online as well at another art site and we've been together for just over 2.5 yrs now :D
Posted 29 months ago. ( permalink )

_Erin_ says:

sweet. What a romantic cool story.

--
Seen on blog.wired.com (?)
Posted 28 months ago. ( permalink )

Vanessa Pike-Russell says:

Wonderful story. My best to both of you :)

--
Seen on your photo stream. (?)
Posted 25 months ago. ( permalink )

Nguyen Hoang Vu says:

Oh what a lovely story! Best wishes to Matt and Cherry!
Posted 25 months ago. ( permalink )

I.am.Dat says:

amazing!!
Love your story.
Life is beautiful :)
Posted 25 months ago. ( permalink )

Hai Trieu - Nikon says:

Wonderful Love Story !!
That's all I can say ^_^
Best wishes to you \(^o^)/
Posted 25 months ago. ( permalink )

Arden Nguyen says:

What a story! :) Best wishes :)
Posted 25 months ago. ( permalink )

ntl1472003 says:

what a romantic love story, best wishes :)
Posted 25 months ago. ( permalink )

Desperate Daddy says:

Hi Matt and Cherry,

I don't even have a camera but I like surfing Flickr. Your fantastic story, happy-ending story has just been posted on Vietnam's number-one portal vnexpress.net/Vietnam/Vi-tinh/2007/07/3B9F80D 9/

The world is undoubtedly small, isn't it? I love your story.

I'm thinking of using your story as a lesson plan for my English class.

Best wishes to both of you.
Posted 25 months ago. ( permalink )

POM © says:

Cool
Posted 25 months ago. ( permalink )

vietdragon.thanh says:

cool pic
Posted 25 months ago. ( permalink )

meintraum27 says:

unsere Welt ist rund . viel Glueck !!!
Posted 25 months ago. ( permalink )

doxuanhuy says:

amazing!
Posted 25 months ago. ( permalink )

matxcova20032001 says:

very interesting! what a romantic love story, best wishes
Posted 25 months ago. ( permalink )

CTSF says:

Amazing story. Congratulations and best wishes to both of you.
Posted 24 months ago. ( permalink )

★ Beverly Sandy says:

62,303 times /:) hope u 2 will happie :)
Posted 24 months ago. ( permalink )

Yuna Sweet says:

The story makes this photo a favourite. :)
Posted 24 months ago. ( permalink )

dragon_s38686 says:

Hi Cherry Vega, Mystery is a beauti of photo.
Posted 24 months ago. ( permalink )

nakkuta says:

hi, i came from Wired

what a great love ticket you got! :D
Posted 21 months ago. ( permalink )

CiaoChessa says:

cool
Posted 19 months ago. ( permalink )

CiaoChessa says:

ps--I just found "the story"...what a perfect flickr coincidence.
and I found this image in the first place from the latest blog post re: stats. so, here's a few more views from me.
take care...
:)
Posted 19 months ago. ( permalink )

bewuethr says:

Haha, that was mentioned in a free newspaper TODAY in Switzerland. The story is a little old by now, but still cool :-)

You can check it out here: (any of the editions should be alright), go in the archive to February 15th, page 21.
Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )

yaznotjaz says:

=) i've always loved this story and this photo, and it made me smile so much to randomly come across it again this evening. may you two have all that is beautiful and blessed in your lives together!
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

Foxteh says:

Fantastic story ! I spoke about on my french weblog :)

mindoverflow.typepad.fr/mind_overflow/2008/05 /faites-de-v...
Posted 14 months ago. ( permalink )

Sentimentality says:

That is an amazing story! jI just love sweet coincidences like this, it makes life truely a wonderful thing. it's the small things that paint the whole picture.
Posted 4 months ago. ( permalink )

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Taken in Tokyo, Tokyo Prefecture (map)
Taken with a Nikon D100.
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Taken on July 4, 2004

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Mystery Girl in Harajuku

Comments

bhikku says:

Shalloola says:

tp says:

caterina says:

matt says:

kinotrope says:

matt says:

kinotrope says:

Brock says:

tinyblob says:

matt says:

kinotrope says:

ocherdraco says:

*ivo* says:

Miss K says:

adlaw says:

kk+ says:

MY LIFE AS A HAINT [deleted] says:

daload [deleted] says:

Robb.Astro says:

StarrGazr says:

lucycat says:

_sarchi says:

collette's lettuce [deleted] says:

matt says:

NYCArthur says:

TedSher says:

RainAtDawn says:

Farl says:

RainAtDawn says:

nj dodge says:

pixability says:

bobtravis says:

catscape says:

King Tufu says:

j_wijnands says:

Afulki says:

girldiplomat says:

jennn says:

circlark says:

hALi° says:

fixbuffalo says:

carwax (if you see Kay) says:

seanim says:

DeepXP says:

ZEЯO says:

sbpoet says:

SymbolicSymbolism says:

.laurie. says:

Si Ollie says:

unravelling [susannah] says:

Kelly Bates says:

_Erin_ says:

Vanessa Pike-Russell says:

Nguyen Hoang Vu says:

I.am.Dat says:

Hai Trieu - Nikon says:

Arden Nguyen says:

ntl1472003 says:

Desperate Daddy says:

POM © says:

vietdragon.thanh says:

meintraum27 says:

doxuanhuy says:

matxcova20032001 says:

CTSF says:

★ Beverly Sandy says:

Yuna Sweet says:

dragon_s38686 says:

nakkuta says:

CiaoChessa says:

CiaoChessa says:

bewuethr says:

yaznotjaz says:

Foxteh says:

Sentimentality says:

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ivo says: