It’s now been two complete years since I moved to Tokyo. Looking back at the last year, some things have changed a lot, some things just a tiny bit. Others, not at all.

§New Opportunities
Finding work from Japanese people remains mysterious and unattainable, so I took it upon myself to volunteer some of my time to design a cafe menu.
The cafe I go to every day is fairly popular with foreign tourists. And though the staff can speak some English, conversing with customers that expect a higher level of proficiency (why?) can still be challenging. I’m attuned to English, so it kinda stands out to me in this environment.
What if I addressed these questions as part of the menu?

I cannot succinctly describe the noticeable improvement for everyone on both sides of the counter. “Why is the food menu only in English?” you ask. The owner likes a foreign vibe. That’s how the original menu was. I think the rationale is that speaking Japanese with Japanese customers is natural, so a quick rundown if needed is not an issue. But I am considering places to introduce Japanese for some titles.
What would be time-consuming for someone else is fun and breezy for me. Making a menu like this was a delight! And every week or two, we assess if there’s something worth changing. And we just do it. (By the way, it’s Ohno’s Forevs.)



§Tourism & Travel
I only went to Kyoto on a day trip in November, to visit the Nintendo Museum, which was awesome. I loved it. I would spend a whole day there, timed entry be damned.

There’s this awesome little hanafuda workshop they have, which was very important to me. It was about an hour long to do just one suit, but if I lived in Kyoto, I’d try to go once a month to make a full set!

Given Chief’s declining health in the last year, I didn’t feel comfortable leaving him alone or in anyone else’s care for longer than 8 or 10 hours. So that really limited the duration and distance of potential travel. Now that he’s gone, I’m looking into taking some trains to places I’ve not been yet. I’m really excited about that.



§ルイ、日本語？
I keep struggling with this. It’s been two years and I can’t hold a Japanese conversation with anyone. I speak Japanese when I absolutely have to, and sometimes instinctively (neat!) for certain things.
But when it comes to buckling down and studying, I just can’t do it. There are so many other things I want to do with my time instead. Almost every hour, I want to make icons, design a font, create a wallpaper, draw hanafuda, write game instructions, sketch an app. Heck, design a cafe menu.
When I look at the time I have, I never prioritize studying Japanese. On one hand, I feel awfully guilty about it. Why can’t I speak Japanese? On the other, I look at all the things I can do that other people can’t do. Why do I make myself feel awful about it? Why is there an expectation that this is not just easy, but worth the time? Like I said, I keep struggling with this. In my heart, I want to learn. I know it will make a lot of things super nice.
When people tell me they’re jealous and wish they could draw, I smile and say that of course they can too, with practice. I know the same is true for language, but—why am I fretting over learning a language while other people don’t seem to be fretting over learning how to draw?



§Hanafuda
Honestly, slow going here! One year after my last update on this, the quality of printing I’m looking for is tricky to obtain. You know, printing 4 or 6 colors is a lot. Eight is …a few more than that. Alignment doesn’t have to be perfect, but I’m not happy with how misaligned it can get. I am a little frustrated with what appears to be halftone patterns instead of dithering. Risograph is hard.
It’s harder than I thought. I hope I get there. But maybe I should also experiment with hand-printing them. I had a lot of fun doing that at the Nintendo Museum, though it takes a very long time.



§Friends & Family
Nobtaka and I still have moments where we are doing normal things together or with the whole fami and can’t believe I’m here. “Weird.” Ayumi’s helping me navigate all the necessary things about Japanese life (bureaucracy), which I cannot express enough gratitude for.
Celebrating birthdays together, playing games with Nikki, making pixel art with Daikichi, watching Nikki perform Tahitian dance, and Daikichi juggle on stage—I love every minute of that stuff. It’s endlessly charming whenever Daikichi and I sync up on communication or when Nikki and I just stare at each other until we bust up laughing.
I love that I’m here for them and that they’re here for me.

Airi came up to Tokyo from Osaka so we could go to Star Wars Celebration Japan. Since she’s a newish Star Wars fan, since the event is in Japan, and since I haven’t been to that event in 20 years, we had to go. It’s a beautiful mess of an event. Everyone’s so kind and just so self-assured about their love of Star Wars. Sometimes I think no one can love Star Wars more than me and then I see thousands of them!
Connecting with Japanese people is still a bit tough. Most people need a very long time to warm up. On the plus side, I've met other foreigners (by the way I’ve not met any other American living here yet) who connect almost instantly. We’re sharing things about each other in the first hour that I still can’t seem to with my Japanese friends after two years.
It’s impossible to explain this cultural chasm.



§Expense
Fell into a nasty trap where I was ordering Uber Eats too much last year. Winter months were tougher on that. Chief being unwell made it worse too. But I started getting more groceries and having food at home. It takes more time, but it’s cheaper.
The weekly vet visits were also starting to add up. Not that I ever hesitated to pay for it, but now that I’m not spending thousands of dollars every year on cat food, supplies, and vet exams, I think things will ease a little bit financially.
The yen and dollar keep playing games, but in general, I’ve stopped looking at it. I can’t control it. If I have to transfer money, I have to transfer money. The anxiety about when the best time is can be completely avoided and maybe is worth the $50 difference.



§Chief
As you know, Chief died last month. For a couple weeks, little random things would remind me of him. For example, I heard EMF’s Unbelievable on shuffle and immediately thought of the dumbest video I made with him years ago. I cried.


[Download the video.]

I still haven’t quite moved on; I still walk into my apartment expecting him to be there, as he had been for 20 years.
The day Chief died, Luka painted a really lovely portrait of Chief for me. It perfectly captures exactly how I remember him, from a moment a few months ago.




§Japanese Food
Still not eating anything near a majority diet of Japanese food. Sill matching the cuisine frequency I’m used to as much as I can, though I miss a lot of my food truck fusion food. If there’s “one” thing I really miss from America, it’s the inventiveness around food.
The Japanese culinary industry seems to value perfection of specific dishes, whereas America seems to value invention and variety. I was looking back at one of the greatest meals I ever had, thin apple slices on bed of arugula, atop a savory curry over polenta, from a food cart in Portland. And I wondered why I can’t have something like this here.
But just look at this. Don’t you want to eat it? I’m not sure where to find food in Tokyo like this. You know, made by people who traveled. Who lived somewhere else, and then thought of all the things they could make.

“Make it yourself!” Yeah, okay.



§Disneyland
You might be surprised, but despite being so close and loving it, I’ve gone less frequently than I used to! I went twice a month before. Now, I might go once a month. Which is fine. I’d go more if I knew someone as excited as me about it. I’m content with going alone, but it’s just nicer to go with others. So I try to sync up with others’ plans when I’m itching to go.
I think this might reflect something I believe about the fluctuation of inspiration and creation. I almost never experience a blank list of things to do, but I might lack motivation. Disneyland is a shortcut to being motivated again. Maybe because it is a highly-concentrated, curated, designed locale with good transportation, way-finding, and service. Maybe living in a city that has all of that has minimized my once intense Disneyland desire. A little bit.
I did go to DisneySea for my birthday (as is tradition?), which was lovely. Surprise guest: iJustine!



§Parakeet
Luka and I have a good cadence and schedule for working together. In my early mornings I try to get necessary communication (like meetings or email) taken care of.
We made two fairly large icon systems lately. I can’t wait to show you those. I think they’re very nice. We made a couple dozen new app icons too. Take a look, and if you need something like this, please send us an email!



My base level of life anxiety since moving from America has dropped drastically. It cannot be overstated. My life is more chill. I’m not rushed or pressed for time. I largely do what I want to do whenever I want to do it.
Some people ask if I get homesick. A little. I get a little homesick. I miss food and friends. But actually some of my friends visit Tokyo and I get to see them! They know I live here and make a point to hang out, which I really appreciate. And sometimes they bring a snack I’ve been craving from America. Two birds, one scone!
“How long will you live there?” I uh, I don’t know! When I moved here, I didn’t have a plan to move back or anywhere else. I’m happy where I am right now. I like it.
I’m looking forward to dinner tonight with the fami at my favorite yōshoku restaurant, just like last year.

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