During my recent trip to Los Angeles, I kept telling my friends how great it was to be back.
A few of them asked me the same question.
“Why is it so great to be back here? What do you miss about LA?”
It was an interesting question, and I didn't have a clear answer.
I said it was the culture, but I wasn't sure what part of the culture.
I grew up in Tokyo, spent many years in Los Angeles, and eventually moved back to Tokyo. There are many things I appreciate about life in Japan. Some of my friends in LA even told me how much they enjoy visiting Japan.
One afternoon during this trip, we had a BBQ with some friends. Comel from Time Machine came by, and there were also some families with kids there.
We decided to do suikawari for the kids, a Japanese summer tradition where someone is blindfolded, spun around, and tries to smash a watermelon with a stick while everyone around them shouts directions and tells them when to swing. And of course, we eat the watermelon afterwards.
Comel had apparently never seen it before.
He loved it.
Watching the kids enjoy it and everyone cheering them on, he said something along the lines of:
“This is why diversity is beautiful.”
America feels deeply divided in many ways right now. But there is still something I've always loved about LA.
People here seem to enjoy differences.
Not just tolerate them or accept them.
Enjoy them.
It makes you feel that you don't have to fit in either.
When people appreciate things that are different, it gives everyone a little more room to be different themselves.
That's the part of LA I miss.
Chikara
September 7, 2026
Journal Archive
TRES Journal #001 "Are You Feeling Mike Here or What?!"
TRES Journal #002 "Japan Might Have the Best Beat Scene in the World Today"
TRES Journal #003 "Before It Has a Name"
TRES Journal #004 "Craftsmanship"