Life after Japan is something I didn’t think about before I moved there almost a decade ago. It never occurred to me that flying across half the world to start a new life is a big step. I’m beginning to see how profound living in another culture can be. That perspective matures with time, experience, […]
Life after Japan is something I didn’t think about before I moved there almost a decade ago. It never occurred to me that flying across half the world to start a new life is a big step. I’m beginning to see how profound living in another culture can be. That perspective matures with time, experience, and age. I had lived there for almost 9 years, and I had imagined living there for much longer, but life had other plans.
I moved home almost 10 months ago. To my surprise, life has been no less tumultuous than it was overseas. After cycling jobs and developing a new look for myself, my life is settling into a new normal. Finding out who I was and where I wanted to be in the future took time. Thankfully, for the first time in a while, my life is moving in an upward trajectory. The following video is my first vlog-style update in forever.
Life After Japan Feels Weird
Japan was never technically my “home”; I felt like an oil slick over water a lot of the time. Despite my effort, I could never truly emulsify into the culture, even while immersed in it. I tried my best, but I was always slightly different. Yet, I feel rather homesick for the areas that were once my temporary home.
Matsumoto, Karuizawa, Morioka, Hachimantai City, Mount Iwate, and the Greater Tokyo Metropolitan area would all be places I would mark on a future Laidback Life Tour. To walk the streets of areas that I once found insignificant and mundane. Distance makes the heart grow fonder as they say. Living a life abroad was special after all. I see photos in my memories that remind me of the beautiful brevity and transience of life.
I remember getting to go to the “big cities” of Tacoma and Seattle as a kid. Now an adult who has lived in the modern cyberpunk metropolis of the Kanto Plain, I doubt I’ll find another city on earth as large or impressive. Seattle’s downtown area is smaller than some of Tokyo’s districts. Unique hidden secrets lie around every area of Tokyo, each carrying its own personality.
But size isn’t everything . . . or at least that’s what they say. Unless you’re measuring decks or lawns. . . Size is one thing America has in leaps and bounds over Japan. Time and Space are what helped me rediscover something I lost in the hustle, bustle, convenience, and speed of Kanto. I find that life in Seattle more matches the pace of the Japanese countryside, and that pace is perfect for me.
Rediscovering Seattle and the Pacific Northwest
The opening paragraphs make it sound like I’m dunking on Seattle. Far from dunking on Seattle, I’m cannonballing into it. In the past year, my appreciation for both Japan and America has grown. The Pacific Northwest, much like Tokyo, has our very own easter eggs, hidden spots, local restaurants, friendly people, and unique experiences. Although we have our fair share of visibly apparent issues, so does Japan. The pristine streets of Tokyo can hide a completely different set of problems. After years in Japan, I realized sometimes surface-level appearances are prioritized over deeper issues. Each city had grit in some areas, but I’ve always loved the realistic, imperfect, and beautiful grunge of big cities.
Come As You Are
Nirvana
Size isn’t everything.
Much of the PNW has America’s small-town charm. As much as I love Seattle, it’s the surrounding areas that carry a greater sense of community. Tacoma even has a documentary about the local community. After becoming more comfortable with my authentic self, finding communities that accept me for who I am came naturally. Alone or with my family, I’ve found my own little retreats in places like Tacoma, Marysville, Sumner, and other surrounding municipalities.
As much as I’d like to travel the world, I think it’s important to travel my world. What I mean is that the sense of novelty and adventure doesn’t have to be a thousand miles from home. It’s simply a drive, hike, or slightly inebriated conversation away.
Fog of War
The fog of war is a mechanic in League of Legends and other RTS games. In places where there are no units or vision wards, only the map’s landscape is visible. Details like units, players, and natural resources have to be discovered, monitored, and supported by infrastructure. Returning to the PNW is similar to being surrounded by the Fog of War. I know the general landscape, but there is still much of the PNW that I haven’t explored.
From small, local towns like Des Moines and Vashon Island to far places like Portland and the Olympic Mountain Range. There has to be an entire world’s worth of restaurants, businesses, and quirky spots like Bothell (blog coming soon) to explore.
Instead of vision wards and scouting units, I have things like Instagram, newspapers, info pamphlets, and tourist centers. For my tour guide position, occasionally I’d get to have a familiarization trip. A skill I picked up was quickly uncovering local and novel amenities. I can use this skill to find new content ideas around my home. Why can’t my content center on local travel, food, events, cars, and Japanese culture in the Pacific Northwest?
There’s probably a bigger niche for Japanese content overseas, as most Japanese people only travel within their country. English content about Japan is in no short supply.
Coming Back To YouTube
Just like blogging, I wasn’t very good at vlogging. A recurring theme of mine is failure to be consistent. Growing up in an Asian household, I think I fed the perfectionism monster too much. Moving forward, I’ve taken the approach that failures and wrong answers only mean you’re a step closer to finding the answer. As long as I marginally improve every video I make, surely by the end of five to ten years I’ll have some videos I’m proud of.
It’s funny because I still get nervous when I turn on the camera. Despite the low viewership and the number of videos under my belt, that feeling still gets to me. I think the worst thing I did for myself is label myself a videographer, artist, and musician. What simply amounts to a word or a label carries so much weight and expectations.
Those weights and expectations can crush you. But it’s better to forget about expectations altogether. It’s similar to clutching a teamfight in Apex Legends. A calm, logical response built on years of practice is what prevails under the most chaotic positions. I feel like I’ve been fumbling under the nonexistent pressure of those labels.
My Old Strategy Wasn’t Working
I was really stubborn about wanting to win the YouTube game playing “my way”. Whatever that means. Doing something the same way for 10 years and expecting different results is a failure on my part. I have a post about wanting to improve at Apex Legends. Improving in a competitive field like YouTube, Music, or Gaming needs a similar approach. There’s a meta; I find that playing to improve is where growth happens. After a video is produced, there is a lot of review, reflection, readjustment, and relearning. Finally, implementing a new strategy takes time.
Recently I’ve been producing a lot of short-form content. It’s not that I prefer vertical short-form content, but my shorts are my best-performing videos in reach, retention, and engagement. Additionally, the same video can be shared across all the SNS feeds. I never wanted to edit for reach and retention, as I love films. I’m sure I’d have the capacity and ability to work in film one day with continued development, but not everyone can be Kane Parsons.
My short-form editing strategy is improving. More cuts, sound effects, and VFX keep people’s attention. But the base is always a good selection of shots and a story to tell behind the shots.
Blogging, SEO, and Learning How the Web Works
Blogging has become really important in my personal life. Organizing my thoughts has never felt easier. The more writing I do, the more muted my internal thoughts become. My brain arranges everything into network notes and categories. It’s like an information spiderweb. The way I organize my ideas is how I should organize my content and my blog. Each page or post a node connecting to a cluster or serving as a bridge internally on my own site. Links can also be external and serve as a gate to and from external sites.
A logical site structure helps search engines understand how pages relate to one another. Internal links feel a bit like strengthening neural pathways—the more meaningful connections a page has, the easier it becomes to understand where it sits in the larger network.
I have so much to learn when it comes to WordPress and SEO so I’ve started a WordPress fundamentals course.
Here are some of my recent posts.
Consistency Over Perfection
The largest bottleneck in life isn’t my intelligence, natural neurodivergence, or even planning. It lies in the day-to-day operations. I lack the boots-on-the-ground experience of working to Turn Pro. (Still need to read that Steven Pressfield book.)
The video itself is evidence that I can show up every day and produce something. It’s not always a video, drawing, or song, but as long as I’m working toward something, it’s okay. What I found recently is that you need space to learn, grow, play, and discover.
This isn’t the grand YouTube comeback. It’s just me showing up again.
Much Love,
LaidbackMarco
