Episode 13— Isaac “Tac” Aquino, creator of Tokyo Interlopers

Sooner or later I was bound to encounter a guest that runs parallel with me. Someone with a similar vision but on a different medium. Here’s Tac, who had gone through the cogs of the Japanese higher education system and the draconian rule-based corporate world. Three years ago, he’s created a website, @Tokyointerlopers which mirrors “Humans of New York” but with an emphasis on photos and stories of foreigners, mixed race Japanese, and 2nd & 3rd generation Japanese living in Japan. His vision of an inclusive and diverse Japanese society runs the same fuel for this podcast. That other parallel of being him being Filipino and I being Filipino-American is also a delightful coincidence to chat about. This was a very special episode for me reflecting on my roots of my birth land. I highly recommend all of you to check out and follow

Tokyo Interlopers to truly see the diversity that’s laced through Tokyo life.

TokyoInterlopers.com

You can follow and see many Tokyo stories he’s interviewed on Facebook and Instagram as well.

https://www.facebook.com/tokyointerlopers/

For the first time (and definitely not the last), I’m going to bring you in my field of work which is one of the most common entry jobs in Japan; English teaching.  Most foreigners have often used the occupation as a steppingstone to vault their way into pursuing their interests in what Japan has to offer. However there are still a handful of us educators in Japan that found this career as our calling. Take for example my guest Akil Watson. He is one of the few English teachers I know that takes pride in English teaching and embraces his occupation in creating his own venture. Recently launching his own startup e-course online, he harnessed all the knowledge and experiences he learned in the classrooms and packaged it into a resourceful product for the Japanese community. In Japan, the market for English language learning is saturated with regurgitated textbooks, private English schools, freelance tutors, English speaking cafes, Skype online chats, etc. This clearly creates unnecessary anxiety for Japanese wanting to practice speaking English yet not sure where to start or what kind of curriculum fits their purpose to study.  Akil is one of the few teachers I know that realizes the way forward for Japanese adult English education is a “specialized learning environment”. He also has his own podcast called “Japan according to Akil” which gives various tips alongside for incoming foreigners. We also exacerbate our experiences of Japanese life and where does it go from here. There’s a bit of digression but I think this conversation of two old timers give a tip or two will benefit the future English teachers planning to live here and thrive in this industry. 🤘🏻🐼🤘🏻

WARNING SPOILER ALERT: This episode contains some unrelated(well... possibly related) banter of AVENGERS: End Game. If you haven’t seen the movie, please feel free to skip from the 50 minute mark.  

You can find Akil's online course here 【Real Change Master オンライン】接客・サービス英会話編　飲食店　（初級））：　　

https://www.udemy.com/real-change-master-online-insyokuten-syokyuu/

"Japan According to Akil Podcast" can be found on Facebook, Instagram and wherever you listen to your podcasts:

https://soundcloud.com/akil-watson

Closing out April with another music related guest,  join me in chatting with an old buddy I met through the Tokyo club nightlife.  Phil (or as he's known by his witty nom de guerre, DJ Phil So Good) and I talk about the our own heyday experiences of the Tokyo club scene and his rising as a regular DJ spinning "House Party" at some of the major venues in the city.   Along with his partner, Mark they've gone the DIY route and organized a multi-genre international party with live bands called, The Hangout  .    Unsurprisingly within a few short years of its existence, the event has been quite a success among the night prowling Tokyo party-goers especially for foreigners craving for a good time and not having to pay a fortune to get it.  I'm sure the scene has changed since the last time Ive attended such kind of parties however Phil and Mark are paving the way in creating a new type of scene to let loose for foreigners and Japanese alike.   

For those living or are in Japan in the beginning of May, The Hangout will be held on Saturday, May 11 at Studio Mugic:  https://www.timeout.com/tokyo/nightlife/the-hang-out

You can check Phil on IG:  @phil_soo_good

You can search "The Hangout Tokyo" on IG and Facebook:  https://m.facebook.com/tokyouhangout/

On this episode, join me as we scratch the surface of the Tokyo indie rock scene.  I sat down with Kento for a blitzkrieg-paced bop of an episode.  I dove deep into his musical inspirations, his experience living and  bringing anarchy in the uk and finally coming full circle back to the Tokyo Indie underground.   Kento's come-as-you-are demeanor reflects his musical journey which is still growing.  Although the Tokyo scene has a clear and present division within their community, it undoubtedly shares the same unknown pleasures for rock and roll.   Case in point, Kento and I try to figure out two highly influential neighborhoods of Koenji and Shimokitazawa:  great outlets for starving artists yet they have completely different music vibes.   Kento’s story can be very familiar or just new noise but it’s definitely not the path of the norm in Japan.  Hope you enjoy!  

PS. Can you name all these punk band references of my youth?

You can check out Kento's band by searching  on Youtube and Soundcloud:  

https://www.youtube.com/user/kentiemod

https://soundcloud.com/kentie_funk

Also check out these clubs and see for yourself about  local Tokyo underground indie rock scene:

Club UFO (Koenji) :  https://www.ufoclub.jp

Club Ichibee (Kichijoji) :  http://www.ichibee.com

It's time to get personal.  Huy was one of my first roommates and oldest friends in Japan.  Even though he doesn't live in Japan, this country is still his home away from home.  His story is no less different with people I know entering an international marriage with a Japanese partner yet he brings a wealth of knowledge for those who are getting ready to take that leap.  As a husband, father and entrepreneur, he brings  perseverance and a remarkable sense of cross cultural understanding that should be revered.  We talk about our early days of city life in coming to Japan, his path towards joining Apple and now Shopify.com as well as his new startup, Nastockcompany.com  This interview was filled with nostalgia but it exemplifies true friendships that you can make and cherish when living in Japan.  

For those of you filled with the entrepreneurial spirit, check out Shopify.com

Along with their website, Huy's company for travel tags can also be found on IG:  @nastockcompany

and Facebook:  www.facebook.com/nastockcompany

On a rainy day, I sloshed my way through the sidewalk puddles up to the Nakameguro Taproom to share a pint with Bryan yet I had no intentions about learning the intricacies of how to brew a good batch of beer.  If you are a beer lover, live in Japan and never drunk Baird Beer, now's the time to catch up with the rest of us.  Bryan along with his wife, Sayuri have been spearheading the Japan craft beer movement and community since the mid-Nineties.  And he's doing it the right way.  You can see the passion and work ethic in his team which is spread through 6 taprooms and brewery in Japan as well as a taproom in LA.  But at the core of all this is the message that Bryan brings which is simple:  providing delicious beer.  We talk about how he came about  being a brewer in Japan, the college days, as well giving New Haven pizza the props it deserves (shout out to my CT brethren).  Also we touch on being a quality  owner/brewer in Japan is essential for the new up and comers.  To my listeners and friends who enjoy a good pint of craft beer, this round is for you!

Baird Brewing

Facebook --  https://www.facebook.com/BairdBrewing

Instagram  -- @bairdbrewing

Twitter  -- @bairdbeer

In the southwestern part of metropolitan Tokyo lies an area considered the Japanese version of Silicon Valley. “Gotanda valley”, as it’s called within the local tech community, is the home of Avelio Systems as well as many other startups working with AI, apps, and the latest type of computer tech. Here you can see a map of the valley and Avelio Systems office is near the bottom:

https://prtimes.jp/a/?f=d31052-20190221-8290.pdf

I paid a visit and talked with the company founder Asa and Sales Director, Ryuhei who’ve explained into how their company was born and how it continues to thrive. These two have been surviving this game for decades and they graciously gave their time to indulge me; what are they doing these days as well expressing Japan’s urgency for more Systems and Software Engineers.

For any of you interested in working as an engineer in Japan, I’d be happy to connect you to Asa or Ryuhei. You can peruse Avelio Systems English website here:

https://www.avelio.co.jp/en/

They also have a Facebook page (Japanese only) which you can access here: https://www.facebook.com/AvelioSystems/

Continuing my interview with Ki from episode 5, we head straight towards his other passion; Wing Chun martial arts. And we cannot discuss the discipline and philosophy that is Wing Chun unless we give praise to the legendary Bruce Lee, his writings and his contributions to the film industry and its celebrities. As I warned in the previous episode, there's a lot of talk of The Dragon and also a bit of respect given to his successor, Jackie Chan. This is all surrounding how teen angst Ki got into martial arts. However, the guilt of never following through led him "to finding his center" only after his university years. Eventually, he became a disciple of Master Victor Parlati under the lineage of Grandmaster William Cheung. We'd come full circle as we again acknowledge a big shoutout to our mutual Japan friend that helped him build his Wing Chung school in Japan as well as his drawing workshops. And finally, Ki's comments about deciding to live in Japan are quite appropriate for people wondering if this country is right for them.

If you are in Tokyo and interested in Wing Chun, Ki is more than happy to let you visit and watch his classes. Search @sifu_ki_innis on Instagram and "Sifu Ki Innis" on Facebook.

Ki's Illustration blog and Master Drawing Japan workshops can be found here:

kicreativestudio.blogspot.com

IG and FB: @ki_innis and @master_drawing_japan

For my next guest we dive into the life of Ki Innis whom I consider a polymath; a modern day warrior poet.  His larger-than-life personality and story is what attracted me to interview him (as well as  him being what I consider to be part of "the old guard" in Tokyo).  We'd dived so deep into his childhood from growing up in New York to sharing our love and appreciation for Bruce Lee.  Sidenote:  All of you Bruce Lee and martial arts fans and practitioners would love these next two episodes.  We learn what sparked his interest to live in Japan as well as catching that lucky break to make a living as an illustrator and animator surviving in Tokyo.  Finally in the first half of our conversation, we hear how Ki gets in contact with two giants in the animation/illustration field, Glenn Vilppu and Ron Husband, which leads him to be the event director of Master Drawing Japan.   Stay tuned for part 2 of this conversation where we dive deep into Wing Chun and how he unexpectedly came upon it.  

You can contact and follow Ki on his illustrations and drawing classes through Instagram and Facebook with his handles, @master_drawing_Japan and ki_innis .  Also check out his blog,  kicreativestudio.blogspot.com for updates and events that he organizes.

To kickoff 2019, I invited the lovely and adventurous duo of Jessica Korteman and Hai Huynh for coffee and a chat. They are freelance travel bloggers now based in Tokyo. You can read and see their captivating photos of their trips to over 50 countries and 6 continents on their travel blog,  Notesofnomads.com Alongside, they work with Instagram Japan ( @instagramjapan ) as Instameet managers for Japan. Organizing meetups on a monthly basis, it gives shutterbugs a chance to meet and share their passion while visiting local spots that most foreigners don’t know about. I think it’s a wonderful chance to use a social media platform to bridge a foreign and Japanese community together instead of inducing users to be habitually self conscious.   Jess has also recently started a new blog, Travelsoloanyway.com , a unique concept geared to people who are interested to solo travel even if they are in a relationship or just downright nervous about the idea.   Join us as I ask them about what made them come to Japan and what’s their experience like living in Japan. Although my path coming to this country is different from theirs, I quickly discover that we share very similar experiences.  Also we share visions of Japan’s seemingly endless travel destinations to future visitors and new inhabitants. You can reach Jess and Hai on all major social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube) by searching @notesofnomads and @travelsoloanyway