About Bianca Toeps

Hi, I’m Toeps. Web developer, photographer and writer. That may seem like a random combination, but actually it all makes perfect sense. Computers interested me as a kid – I remember ten-year-old me “drawing” in MS Paint, creating my first website with GeoCities, and reading articles from Encarta, the digital encyclopedia, for fun.

Fast forward ten years later, and I discovered photoshoots and being an extra: sitting inconspicuously in the background of films and commercials – or standing, partying or whatever was on the schedule for that day of shooting. Not much later I enrolled in the study Communication and Multimedia Design, where all these things came together: media, marketing, photography and code. Yay!

After working as a fashion photographer for a couple of years, I started working on Fashionmilk, an online magazine about the Dutch modeling world. The platform ran on WordPress, and I built it myself. I also photographed, wrote and designed for the platform. Our tapmaddel (aka Holland’s Next Top Model) recaps were a huge success. In addition, I had been blogging in a personal capacity since 2004. At some point I quit Fashionmilk, and the platform merged into what then became Toeps Blog. I started using the WordPress experience I had gained with Fashionmilk for others around this time.

When I was 26, I was diagnosed with autism. For some time I kept this quiet, but this resulted in a writer’s block – so I decided to be open about my diagnosis and started writing about it. This sparked the interest of a publisher, so in 2019 my first book, But you don’t look autistic at all, saw the light of day. The book became a huge success, with over 40,000 copies sold. It has since been translated into English, German and Italian, and adapted into a children’s book called Ik ben autastisch! (I’m Autastic!) More about my books can be found on this page.

I first came to Japan in 2008, visiting my friend Maan. Later I photographed there, blogged there, worked on myself and my book there, and from 2016 I was staying in Tokyo for about three months a year – the maximum period on a tourist visa.

And then came covid. I was in Japan when it started, but I had to leave. Just when I was planning to look for something more permanent, so I wouldn’t have to keep sending my stuff to friend Kei when I left. I decided to dedicate myself fully to this plan, because honestly, I didn’t have a whole lot better to do during lockdowns anyway. My visa application was quickly approved, although it then took another fourteen months for the borders to open. But now I live in Japan! My book about this move, This autistic girl went to Japan – and you won’t believe what happened next, came out in September 2023. The English translation followed in February the next year.

I also love Disney parks (coincidentally, they have the best ones in Japan!), thrift store shopping, tinkering with Polaroid cameras and donating all my money to Starbucks – even though I don’t drink coffee at all.

I’m not much into pigeonholing or identity politics, but if I have to describe myself: I usually fall in love with men, but sometimes also with women. I don’t identify very much with my femaleness, but even less so with the non-binary label or newfangled pronouns. You can read more about that here.

On this website you’ll find my photography and web portfolios, information about my books, and blogs: personal pieces, travel blogs, and opinions – aka rants, as blogging was once intended.