This photograph marks the first friendship I made on my first trip to Japan. This is Ujiie Yoshihiro, owner of Black Sun Jazz Club in Kabukicho, Shinjuku. On my first evening in Shinjuku, I stumbled into his bar by chance. From our very first interaction, it became my local—somewhere I returned to every day. I took his portrait that first night, and it meant so much to him that when I returned to Japan, I made a second portrait. This image will always remind me of the warmth and kindness I experienced in a place I knew nothing about, completely on my own. I always admired Hiro’s pride in his work and the camaraderie he created around him. Hiro, as he likes to be called, welcomed me in on my first night and unknowingly gave me a place to belong. His warmth and kindness, turned a chance encounter into a lasting reason to return.