It’s 0400 in the morning. My friend sent me a message. Still awake at my computer, I look down to see who it is.
“I really do need a marketing manager”.
This is the golden ticket, a moment I’d been waiting for. Only it was a little earlier than I expected it. I sent him my gratitude before surrendering to my fatigue. The next day was a rare break at the start of Japan tourim’s peak season. I crawled up to my bed and thought of the Sakura trees outside. The Sakura trees were starting to bloom earlier than usual as well. Even after hitting my 30th birthday, I wasn’t quite ready to acknowledge another year had passed. But I’ve learned that it’s okay to accept things and let go—to surrender to the flow of life, even when the direction isn’t clear. It was time to let go. I still struggle to “listen to the universe.” Am I ready to listen to the call? I’ve learned that there is a beautiful surrender to letting life bloom.
Flowers Blooming in the Middle of A Rainstorm
Rain gently rolled down my clear plastic umbrella as I stepped closer to the sakura trees in full bloom. To open up and display such delicate beauty in the middle of a rainstorm—it felt like a bold decision. Their frail petals were vulnerable, the wind waiting to carry them away. And yet, against the bleak gray backdrop, they stood out even more.
I’ve had a similar experience. Recently, I shared my struggles after an unfortunate accident—an energy drink explosion, and my beloved camera caught in the crossfire.
After sharing this, I found that people genuinely want to help if you allow yourself to be vulnerable. Friends and family reached out. Others helped me source camera equipment just in time for the drift event a week later.
It’s strange. Sometimes, I get the sense that the people around me believe in my success even more than I do. It happens so much that you start to change your opinion of yourself.
Creative Whims
One of the drawbacks of being a creative person is that projects seem to pull you in. I wouldn’t say I get distracted by projects—I choose to pursue them. When a creative muse sits on my shoulder, I listen. At the very least, I try to get started on an idea rather than let it sit and collect dust. My only issue? Finishing. The process is always more involved than I anticipate.
Take the project above, for example. I heard this song somewhere while out and about, and it immediately made me want to remix it. The melody reminded me of my childhood in the early 2000s, but I wanted to adapt it to my current music tastes—something along the lines of MiTiS or melodic electronic dance music.
So, I loaded it into FL Studio. and spent four hours tweaking, layering, and adding effects. But this song is far from done. It’ll take another 25 to 30 hours to polish—filling out frequencies, refining details. My target sound is somewhere between Illenium, Said the Sky, MiTiS, and Seven Lions.
Self Efficency Tangent
Blogging, music production, video editing, photography, art, learning—all of my creative processes are inefficient. I know that. And I know I’d benefit from turning them into structured systems.
Take music production. I should probably save my remix template. While remix endpoints are vastly different, the starting process is usually the same. By saving a template, I could cut down on 30 to 40 minutes of setup time—a 17% reduction. That might sound small, but time-saving compounds. I know this from experience—whether in games or life—it’s the little things that make the difference.
This is all part of my ambition: to be a top performer in all aspects of my life. Or at least, to try.
Budding Flower and Family
This week was a busy one. It started with guiding a family of three, including a young boy. We visited locations I frequent on tours—Hamarikyu Gardens, Asakusa, Akihabara. At this point, the information is burned into my brain.
But guiding isn’t just about facts. Over the last year, I’ve developed a skillset I didn’t expect: customer service. Learning how to engage, build rapport, and make information interesting—that’s what makes a good guide. And that’s a skill I can take anywhere.
The boy was inquisitive, curious, competitive. He reminded me of the kind of people who grow up to be high performers. Watching his parents guide and encourage his behavior, I thought about where he’d be at my age. Then I realized—the people I look up to, the ones I sometimes feel jealous of, probably had an upbringing like his.
Without realizing it, he was teaching me something.
Self Reflective Side Tangent
I don’t want to make it sound like my parents did a bad job. They’ve maximied the cards in their hand. Thanks to my parents I was able to mostly be a kid and enjoy life, which is valuable in itself. Unlike my older sister who took the weight of responsibility and being the “successful” career child I was free to float around and discover life. Lessons I had to learn and teach myself were all lessons that this small boy and my sister had learned much earlier in life.
It’s Not Always About Winning
At the arcade in Akihabara. GiGO Building Three has my favorite rythm game Dancerush Stardom, Initial D Machines, and a Retro Arcade on the 6th Floor. I love taking people there to play the 4-Player Pac Man Game. I had to take it easy on the kid, of course. I’m solid at most games (aside from fighting games), but sometimes, it’s not about winning.
We forget that video games—even competitive ones—are meant to be fun. There’s a melancholy that comes with watching esports or the NBA, where competition has become a machine. Players like LaMelo Ball,Thebausffs, and and Luka Dončić remind us that games are about joy.
So I sandbagged a little. Took trick shots in air hockey. Eased off the gas pedal in Mario Kart. Winning wasn’t the goal—it was about letting the kid embrace his competitive spirit. And honestly, I had just as much fun.
There’s research that shows that in play, if one participant always wins, the other loses interest. Even rats understand this concept.
Sometimes You’ll Learn Things if You’re Playing to Have Fun
At some point, we jumped onto Mario Kart—the great equalizer.
Because I wasn’t playing too seriously, I accidentally discovered something new. If you hit the button on the dashboard, your character jumps. Turns out, you can start drifts with that button instead of the brake pedal. Drifting at full speed like this builds boost more efficiently. That little jump also lets you change directions mid-drift, maintaining speed while charging the boost gauge.
It’s funny how just relaxing and enjoying the moment can lead to learning something useful.
Mario Kart is fun because the items help balance the skill gap. Players in the back get better items than those in front. But I wasn’t there to win. As we rounded the final corner of the course, I lifted off the throttle.
I had my fun. I didn’t need the game to tell me I was the winner—because, in my mind, I already was. The win meant far more to that little boy than it ever would have to me.
Cute Day with a Family of Four
I met my next family after their Taiko drumming experience, which I personally think is a must-do in Japan. It’s perfect for anyone interested in music, especially traditional Japanese percussion.
After they worked up an appetite, I took them to my favorite beef katsu spot—a place where you can sear your meat to your preferred doneness. From there, we strolled through Takeshita Street in Harajuku. Since I’m a big fan of Sanrio and cute pop culture, I knew exactly where to take them.
The couple’s daughters loved animals, so we made an impromptu stop at a mini pig café. Before I knew it, I was sitting in a corner, cuddled by three sleepy piglets.
From there, we headed to Shibuya Crossing, letting the kids experience the world’s busiest pedestrian scramble. To wrap up the day, we stopped at the Shibuya Pokémon Center, home to a life-sized Mewtwo statue.
A Cold, Rainy, and Colorful Day
As I stepped outside to meet the family, I immediately heard the pitter-patter of rain around me. Normally, rain wouldn’t be a big deal, but the combination of cold and wet made it one of those days where you just want to hole up inside and watch movies.
I want to live my life like it’s a movie, I thought as the train jostled from side to side.
The rain reminded me of home. In a way, it was beautiful.
When I met the family in the hotel lobby, I asked about their free day in Tokyo. The girls were excited to tell me all about Odaiba, one of my favorite areas. Hatsune Miku concerts, Joypolis, the giant Gundam—there’s so much to see there.
On the way to our first stop, they told me about their visit to TeamLab Planets. I love how this exhibition blurs the line between the digital and physical worlds, but I’ll save my philosophical tangent on that for another day.
Nezu Shrine
Nezu Shrineis one of the few actual “hidden gems” in Tokyo. While foreign tourists visit, especially during the Azalea Festival, it was mostly empty on this cold, rainy day.
As we walked through the shrine, I shared some facts about Shinto traditions and the Inari spirit. The small row of Torii gates made for some great photos. Because I had most of the historical information memorized, I could focus more on making sure the little ones were comfortable, prioritizing shelter and adjusting our pace to the weather.
After picking up pinwheels, a book about the shrine, and an Omikuji, I called the driver to let him know we were ready.
Our next stop was Yanaka Ginza, a charming shopping street. The tourist center offers some cultural experiences, but given the weather, we only had time for a quick browse. We stopped at a jewelry store, a shop selling cat-tail doughnuts, and a bagel café before heading to a local curry spot—one of my go-to places in the area.
Learning About Art
One of my favorite things about this job is the auxiliary knowledge I gain from translating experiences for clients. Over time, I’ve picked up a bit about sword making, tea ceremonies, Japanese history, and now—Japanese art.
During the family’s sumi-e ink painting session, I was invited to participate. I learned how to control brush pressure to achieve different effects, and how composition, balance, and simplicity define traditional Japanese artwork.
Sumi-e ink painting is an unforgiving medium, and the delicate paper absorbs mistakes instantly. But it was fun to experiment. The mother in the family turned out to be really skilled, and after some instruction, I started getting the hang of it too.
It was a great experience.
Sharing My Love of Anime
Our final stop before their trip to DisneySea was one of my favorite hidden gems—the Suginami Anime Museum. It was a way for me to share something I love while also giving the kids a chance to be creative. Inside, they got to try voice acting, experiment with animation, and learn about the history of the industry.
Before I knew it, it was time to say goodbye.
Before parting ways, the daughters surprised me with drawings they had made.
During the tour’s free time, I had taken a moment to sketch them a little drawing in return. I always like leaving guests with a personal touch—it’s a small gesture, but one that people seem to appreciate.
Surrender to the Flow of Life and Let it Happen
There are things I want to happen in my life, goals I’ve set, and dreams I’ve chased. But I’ve also come to appreciate the beauty of letting life unfold on its own terms. One of my favorite philosophers says that life happens for us, not to us. It doesn’t always feel that way in the moment, but I’ve learned that fighting the current only makes the journey harder.
Do I stay in Japan? Do I go home? What if leaving means walking away from opportunities I haven’t yet seen? But what if going home unlocks new roads I never knew existed? The future remains uncertain, and maybe it always will be.
I’ve done my best to surrender to the flow of life, trusting that the answers will come in time. Growth isn’t about having everything figured out—it’s about moving forward, even when the way isn’t clear
