This week took me from a crowded community festival to a serious conversation about AI in Japan, and then home to a small experiment that raised more questions than expected. Different settings, same underlying thread.

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From walking through Chiharu Shiota’s world, to listening closely to how Japan sees its role in a fractured global order, to fixing something I had quietly worked around for years. This week reminded me how much progress is shaped by what we choose not to ignore.

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This week held both quiet reflection and real momentum. Some thoughts from my latest writing, and why the energy at GLOBIS G1 left me feeling genuinely hopeful about Japan’s future.

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What if fulfillment at work is less about clarity and comfort, and more about complexity, care, and the small rituals that shape our days?
This week’s newsletter reflects on psychological richness in cross‑cultural work, lessons from Japanese garden design, and the quiet habits that make mornings better.

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From reflections shaped by life between Japan and the US, to everyday global work, to a quiet moment at home, this week’s newsletter brings a few threads together in an unexpected way, and offers a gentle invitation to slow down, rest, and restore.

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I spent this week writing about moments from Japan that still linger with me: a noren with unexpected wisdom, why language training is still deeply human, and a Costco discovery that made me laugh out loud.

If you’re in the mood for a mix of reflection, cross‑cultural work insights and a very large bag of bunny‑shaped KitKats, here’s the roundup.

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Coming back to Tokyo after six years felt like pressing play on a part of my life I didn’t realize had been on pause. The week brought grief, clarity, cross‑cultural HR lessons and one very well‑timed Ebi Filet‑O at Narita that still makes me smile. If you’re curious how all of that fit into a single trip, this week’s reflections are for you.

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Fresh off my Tokyo trip and still slightly jet-lagged, I put together a newsletter full of everything this visit gave me: reconnection, reflection, temples, full circle career moments and ending up with one very large box of Chocorooms. And as much as I loved every minute in Japan, it also feels incredibly good to be home again with my husband, my little piece of Japan in the US. If you want the full story, here it is.

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Tokyo has a way of turning an ordinary workweek into something much more layered. What was meant to be a straightforward trip became a string of small surprises, old memories resurfacing, and conversations that quietly shifted perspective. This week’s newsletter shares those moments, from workshops and long walks to unexpected reunions and little slices of shitamachi life. If you are curious how a week in Tokyo can blend work, nostalgia, and connection so seamlessly, this one is for you.

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I am writing this from SFO on my way to Tokyo, and this week’s newsletter reflects that feeling of being between two worlds. From satsuma imo gohan to startup conversations to an Odaiba statue I will now see again before even visiting the real one in New York, it all somehow fits. I am also looking forward to seeing how Tokyo has changed, working with my client while I am there, and getting a fresh burst of energy from meeting people and having conversations about the thing that makes me tick: connecting people. Stay tuned for many posts from Tokyo next week!

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I stayed mostly at home this week, but my writing wandered: into an Oakland landmark with quiet echoes of Japan, into the political winds shaping 2026, and into the humble perfection of chicken skin on a skewer. Funny how the themes connect only once they’re on the page.

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This week took me from clear plastic drawers in my California home to an overflow room at a “Why build in Japan?” event, and finally to a tiny bottle of umeshu the size of an apple. On the surface, they have nothing in common. Look a little closer, and they all point to the same Japanese lesson: start small, make space, and let that change what feels possible.

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