Tokyo Part Deux.

The art of ikigai.

By Johnny Nghiem

November 15^th, 2016

"Ikigai (生き甲斐) is a Japanese concept meaning a reason for being. Everyone, according to the Japanese, has an ikigai. Finding it requires a deep and often lengthy search of self. Such a search is regarded as being very important, since it is believed that discovery of one's ikigai brings satisfaction and meaning to life."

Before this trip I had a lot of thoughts to sort out - be it personal, work related, or general jargon, I felt incredibly alone in my conquest to seek some conclusions.

Since my visit to Japan last year, the time between then and before the start of this visit was very complicated. I had a sense of unhappiness that surrounded me and I exhausted and buried myself by trying to solve unsolvable things. This isn't so much about soul searching but really about figuring out the finer details of life that makes me and only me happy.

Coming back to Tokyo after two weeks traveling around brings me to one conclusion I can truthfully admit; being alone gives me a chance to explore unexplored possibilities.

Back to the commentary.

Above is mAAch ecute. This space once housed a railway station which was transformed into a tunnel system's worth of boutique shops and cafes. As you make your way and even if the shops don't cause any impulse buying, like walking down the shoreline of a river, you end up letting your eyes dictate your pace and found myself spending a lot of time looking at women's shoes and make-up.

Like any foodie savage, my body desperately craved pizza and like any person on the day after his/her birthday party, my body desperately wanted to do nothing.

Pizza Slice sells New York style pizza and after walking and then cabbing to Yoyogi Park, they were still incredibly delicious even after 30 mins.

When Tokyo falls into the night, like any romantic partner, their beauty becomes something entirely different and makes you fall in love all over again.

Above and below is Akihabara and it's every gamer and tech head's paradise or people with an obsession with maid and schoolgirl cafes.

Last night I celebrated my 32nd birthday at Gonpachi aka The Kill Bill restaurant. After a quick Google search, it was later revealed as the restaurant that inspired the set for that epic fight scene but not actually filmed in.

I also wrote a birthday speech which I never got to read so here's an excerpt:

"As most of you know, this year has been full of ups and slight downs. On the good and only the good, I got to travel to a few countries that I’ve never thought of going to before like Pakistan where I got to smoke a cigarette inside the airport while waiting for my luggage and for some people, a sofa.

I also got to say “I love you” again which was to a person but now it’s to every bowl of ramen I eat and every vending machine can of corned soup at four in the morning.

I’m so lucky to be filled with so much warmth which is probably due to the sake, but for arguments sake I’m going to say it’s because of you guys… who have fed me too much sake. All of you come from various paths of my life and knows me entirely different from one another. I’m Johnny Famous to some, just Johnny to others, or that Pilipino waiter to everyone in Dubai.

As I move towards the next chapter of my life and whether that’s falling in love with techno in Berlin, motorbiking it across Vietnam solo, or getting plastic surgery in Seoul, you’ve got this guy, me, for life.

Alas, bon apetit, c’est la vie, and god speed. I love you all and let’s wake up tomorrow regretting nothing. Boom."

This was my second year in a row spending my birthday in Tokyo and was lucky to have friends from Toronto and Dubai finally meet and for my Japanese friends for making sure that none of us accidentally ordered any Japanese hornet infused sake. I am truly blessed with the people I surround myself with and to meet them in places outside of what we call home is an experience that I can't describe. To be untied from comfort and discovering new ones is something we can all explore and appreciate together.

Tonight we went to The Peak Bar at the Park Hyatt Hotel in Shinjuku. It was featured in Lost In Translation and will forever be a place that one day I will take someone out on a date or just go alone and enjoy my own space.