One of Okabe’s first projects was called Dildo, which she describes as a “seven-year love story.” Spanning time spent with two lovers and two very different stories, she tells us where it all began. “I met Kaori when I was 24 years old, during the summer. We became close, and then we started a relationship. I didn’t really take any notice that she was a woman. We spent all of our time together. Since she was the closest person to me, I photographed her constantly.” After some time, Kaori no longer felt comfortable living in Japan and moved away; shortly after, Okabe met Yoko. “The opposite to Kaori, Yoko wanted to live as a man, and so I set off on a journey to Thailand with her to assist her after her sex change operation. It was like Kaori had been suffering from her sexuality, but Yoko was more cheerful and free. I have such sweet memories of her and that time together. It was a journey of great significance and I wanted to record it all.”