Hi, my name is Tomomi.

I needed to be in South Africa on Saturday and I’d decided to spend a few days in Paris first, to re-pack and re-connect. It was wonderful to be home and hard to leave. Sometimes I wonder how much I really love travelling. I can’t imagine not doing it but I’m also a huge homebody.

I read Ryo Asai’s novel “ In the Mega-church ” from Tokyo to Paris. It’s an intricate story of three characters that criss-cross into a finale—a divorced salaryman desperate for relevance who gets an opportunity to help market an idol group, his socially isolated university student daughter who gets sucked into this fandom unbeknownst to him, and a financially precarious 35 yo woman whose world collapses when her favorite idol commits suicide. Their three stories advanced in leaps and bounds bigger than I anticipated, by which I mean, their lives deteriorated at a speed which is horrifying and at the same time, feels like a logical sequence for what happens when one loses their place in community and latches onto something that isolates them even further. Asai is know for his ability to capture the zeitgeist with surgical precision of the inner experience of different players on that scene. It’s suffocating and relentless and you can’t look away.

On my way from Paris to Capetown I read Asako Yuzuki’s novel, “ Butter ”. (In the original Japanese, having learned from “ Before the coffee gets cold ”). I’d actually heard about this book from an Australian friend, before realizing that it’d been a bestseller in the UK. Translated contemporary novels are having a moment in the English book market, it seems. I was blown away by the prose in this book… there were sentences that felt so rich, so savory. Now that I know what happens, I can re-read it more slowly in the future to savor the nuances and turn of phrases. This book has some beautiful friendships, which was like a salve after In the Mega-Church. I also related to the impulses of many of the female characters—finding my own experiences and inner monologue articulated in a crisp manner that provided validation that I hadn’t even realized I hadn’t given to my own thoughts. I finished Butter while having breakfast on my Airbnb patio in the sun (see photo!) which felt like a grand luxury. I’m curious to read some English reviews but want to enjoy cocooning in my high-context Japanese experience a while longer.

In my jet lagged mornings in between, I read Gabrielle Zevin’s novel, “ Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow ”. This was also a great book, on friendship, the world of gaming and creative processes. I’m still coming down from the heat of Butter to say more but I enjoyed this book a lot and will prob re-read it in the future, too.

Other things happened this week, too, some wonderful conversations that will form creative projects in the near future. And I’m in South Africa, a place I’ve had little exposure to in the past. But let’s be honest, it was the books that made my week..!

I kicked off work on Tuesday, starting with a nice team lunch and commuting to the office every day. It’s a run of what my life may have looked like if I hadn’t moved away, which I always find to be a marvelous, confusing mix of bittersweetness, nostalgia and gratitude.

Fun things that happened:

• went to the largest zine shop in Tokyo and then a zine festival the next day — lots of wonderful finds!
• lunch with peers and friends visiting from Singapore
• coffee with a fellow UXR who is great about making sure we meet :)
• meals at three restaurants that manage to evade or repel tourists
• two conveyor belt sushi dinners who do not
• Friday izakaya drinking party with childhood friends
• got a tattoo! I have a few weeks left in my milestone birthday year to do it and pretty happy with the result
• last round of shopping (clothes, food, cosmetics) before flying back to Tokyo
• a last hang with baby niece, even babysitting solo for a while and successfully putting her down for a nap

It’s Week 1 but half 2025 and half 2026, which makes the numbering compatible with the days of the week, but it’s not very elegant. I sent a Postcard from wintery Yatsugatake on the 30th, a cap on the feather of some very nice reflection time, then spent a few days with family. We made three trips to the onsen hot spring bath, which might be a record in one week! It was super nice in Yatsugatake as usual, and I’m already looking forward to coming back in July for early summer hiking and a creative project or two.

I gave a few tries to intention-setting for 2026 but didn’t get very far—2025 was pretty nice, all things considered, and I oscillate between wanting a continuation vs wondering if there’s a grander challenge that I’m missing out on. To be continued to ponder over, as things start to pick up.

Solid last week at work, wrapping up client work, lunch with a client that I hadn’t met in person before, office cleaning and evenings out with colleagues. I’d wanted to make progress on personal projects but decided to end the work week and meet friends from high school instead. It was a bit of a reunion moment, and I’m so glad for this reconnect. I’ve missed so much of their lives, and I would like them to be part of mine again. It also gives me an experience of Tokyo (and myself) that I’d let fade away, through many years of prioritizing work and family on these trips to Japan.

Weaved throughout was lots of family time, with three sisters, two brothers-in-law and a baby niece coming and going while the parents stayed put at home.

On Saturday I caught an evening train to Yatsugatake for a few days of quiet time and prepare the property for family to spend the new year. Clear blue skies, lots of bright stars at night and fab views of Mt Fuji, the Japan Alps and the Yatsugatake range. My grocery run ended up taking two hours as I chased the views, and the bike battery gave up towards the end. I’ll ride in a different direction tomorrow.

Japanese books: I read Ryo Asai’s novel “ (Ab)Normal Desire ” and Kaho Miyake’s “ The skill to put words to things you like ” and enjoyed both. I started reading Namiko Kubo’s “ The science of oshi ” a book that looks at stan culture through the lens of projection theory. Miyake’s book is also rooted in “oshi” i.e. stan culture—it’s about how to speak or write about the things you’re a fan of, in a way that lands with other people. She advocates for noticing what you’re noticing (how Gestalt!) and then jotting them down before you expose yourself to other people’s opinions. Oshi culture is important for me to be able to articulate for my UX research work, and I’ll prob pick up a few more books next year.

English books: I read Liann Zhang’s very readable “ Julie Chan is Dead ” and started leafing through The Fax Club Experiment. Not sure if I’ll finish the latter. I also made a dent in Gabor Mate’s “ The Myth of Normal ” which I’d picked up a while back.

I’ve kept up these weeknotes for the full second half of 2025, and the habit been critical for re-building my reading and writing practices. My attention is coming back. A new relationship with discipline is emerging. I’ve had a good year (reflection in progress, aiming to send out a Postcard tomorrow) but these quiet changes might be my favorite parts of 2025.

I cleaned my flat, took care of some visa admin (long story) and flew out to Tokyo on Thursday, arriving Friday night. Usually I go into the office the next morning so getting a restful weekend first felt very relaxed.

I finished listening to Amber Ruffin and Lacey Lamar’s “You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories about Racism” which was funny-not-funny and Toshikazu Kawaguchi’s “Before the Coffee gets Cold” which I regret not reading in the original Japanese.

Speaking of Japanese books, I finally sorted out how to get Amazon.co.jp on my Kindle. Yes! I’m banging my head against the wall for letting a decade pass without looking into it properly. What I needed was a new Amazon account, since my previous .co.jp account was transferred to the .fr account, registering my Wise card so that I don’t get crazy exchange rates, and assigning my Kindle to the new account. (I now have a Japanese Kindle and an English ebook tablet, which is excessive but unavoidable.) Now that I’ve worked on my attention span the last six months and able to read books again, I’m really keen on reading new Japanese releases.

Looking forward to a fun three weeks in Tokyo.

I had a light-ish work load, a few catch-up calls with friends, and a beautiful Emotions at Work alumni session on emotional regulation. Otherwise stayed home, mostly in bed with a weird, stomach upset. Back at 90% as of Sunday, thankfully.

I dipped in to a few chapters of Peter Block’s “ The Answer to How Is Yes ”, which I reach for from time to time. And listening to Amber Ruffin and her sister Lacey Lamar’s “ You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories about Racism ”.

I spent most of the week north of Barcelona, co-working with friends. Daily sunshine, a view of the sea and the full moon! It was great to have a break from the grey drizzle of Paris. Maybe it’s time to consider a longer stay in Spain…

I finished Brene Brown’s new book, Strong Ground. It’s kind of a taxonomy walkthrough of mindsets and skill sets that she sees are critical for leadership in this day and age, with lots of personal stories, snippets from her past books, podcast interviews and other people’s books, as well as lessons from her experience with leadership training. I enjoyed it alot as a long-time follower of her work. I also read Bonnie Tsai’s On Muscle: The Stuff That Moves Us and Why It Matters. It was one of the books quoted in Strong Ground , a collection of different perspectives on muscle from the fields of anatomy, sports, culture etc. tied together by the author’s stories about her father.

I went to a Ryoji Ikeda show at the Philharmonie, probably the first time I experienced his work live, after seeing plenty of installations and video pieces in Tokyo and Paris. There were three sets of musicians—100 cymbals, a choir and an organ—for what felt like very different sonic experiences. There was a quiet stream of bored? people getting up to leave in the last half-hour, which was a bit tough. I wonder if it was a mismatch with the venue, which tends to be more about classic orchestra music. Pity.

Bonus photo of a bouquet I got for a friend who hosted lunch.

Brown water and burnt toast but the vibes can’t be beat

The city feels festive. Flower shops have started selling Christmas trees and plenty of people are hurrying down the cold streets carrying home their fish netted choices. There are illuminated decorations that light up the streets, and I even wandered into a Marchés de Noël. This week I had a much higher number than usual of brunches, lunches and dinners, and feel both glad and relieved that each one was energizing in their own ways.

It’s been a big week for Emotions at Work—we’ve started conversations with a couple of organizations for collaborations next year, to work with their teams on topics like trust and coordinating work. I’m looking forward to rolling up my sleeves!

I attended Tous En Selle, a film festival dedicated to cycling that is going to tour a few cities in France with five short films. The Paris edition was at the magnificent Grand Rex theater, with many of the directors and cyclists joining in-person to share a few words. It was a lot of fun to be immersed in the worlds of amateur sport, to be out in nature for the thrill of adventure and self-discovery. While I was there, I realized Wicked 2 was also playing that week, so I swung by a few days later to catch it on the big screen. So good. It’s crazy to me that I saw the Broadway show and the movies in the same year—musicals as mega productions in mainstream culture!

Took a selfie as evidence that there was a bit of sun…

The weather in Paris has been dismal and it’s hard to tell whether I’m down / things feel harder than they need to be or if it’s a seasonal dip. Going out one night didn’t help—I’ve had so little alcohol these last few months that a few glasses of wine threw me out of whack for two days. Lame. I’d much rather have had two nicer days than the drinks…

I finished reading Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott and am very pleased I have the paperback version so that I can pick it up again in the future, both literally and figuratively. I started Brené Brown’s new book, Strong Ground. She is a researcher first and foremost and the book presents her latest research, as distilled from client work, academic research, expert interviews, all kinds of other conversations and her own life experiences. There’s two layers of the book: what the findings are, and what she thinks about what they’re learning in the field and practicing themselves. I don’t know if that’s a style that speaks to the mainstream but it’s certainly an attractive one for me!

It was another nice week at home, with a near-ideal balance of work, sport and meeting friends. Tried a new cafe, a new restaurant and a new neighborhood grocer. All were great and serve as wonderful reminders to keep trying new places. In recent months I’ve had to unpin so many of the establishments I’d saved on Google Maps in the past decade. So much turnover.

Speaking of new things, I started keeping a journal (handwritten!) which is a mix of notes, reflections and lists. It’s working for me, and by working I mean it’s actually becoming a habit, which I can scarcely believe. Will continue tinkering away at it, without overthinking it, and see where I am in a few weeks.

I had the chance to speak at an online event with my Greaterthan colleagues about our experiences trying alternative approaches to distributing money. Good stuff.

I chanced upon a paperback copy of Herman Hesse’s Siddhartha so I put Steppenwolf to the side for a moment. It’s a lyrical, fast-paced, novel-style book and I spent a very pleasant afternoon immersed in it. The book didn’t touch me the way it seems to have profoundly impacted many others. Which doesn’t bother me much—I quite enjoy reading and watching reviews and interpretations to help me appreciate what I hadn’t spotted myself. Also making a note to self to read Tezuka Osamu’s Buddha when I’m in Japan next. It would be fun to read a version of this story as a Japanese manga.

I continue to love Anne Lamot’s Bird by Bird. I’m reading a few chapters a day and am sad that it’s almost done.