aki

領域展開 @mtslive

[aki @akiaeki]

journal upon my visit back to japan this year!

tldr; japanese aesthetics

updating as a series

real estate; general investments
- research upon @moribuilding -> medium-large sized boutique building developer *after* big 7; in charge of minato-based RE. toranomon, azabudai, roppongi, omotesando (business-trendy areas); in tandem w/ mori living, mori trust on diff paths (leaning towards hospitality in Mori H&R; conrad, laforet, edition et cetera)
- p1: high traffic / tier density spreads in branded luxury rental homes/apartments in sister or daughter brands of bigger real estate kaisha's; i.e. open house development, la tour, moriliving (aforementioned), park axis (premia)
- chiyoda, chuo, akabane area heavily intended towards japanese-born elites; minato-ku heavily intended towards 归国子女 (returning overseas fams) slash overseas expat elite families
- review upon warren buffet's investments in sogo shoshas gaining high revenue in japan from non-trade activity -> managing up-to-downstream and daily operations of citizens, extremely extensive of overall economy of japan
- p2: 東京DEEP案内; interesting research on vibe map of areas of tokyo (upper rich, lower poor, left commercialised, right "trad-japanese")
- venture capitals & overseas lps in japan gaining momentum late 2024; (shameless plug to @skylandvc); risk-averse but still there. fun skew of research to youth scholarship foundations like son's @masason_f; mext by the us gov for ug students in japan.

resorts/hospitality/experiences
- @notahotel_inc (@notahotel_dao) biggest ieo/most creative coin offering/rwa adaptation in japan thus far; *actual* decentralisation
- @HoshinoResorts; high levels of business in signature hoshinoya line + hot spring kai ryokans; extremely dedicated to r&d upon different consumer lines
- @amanresorts (operating areas in tokyo); expensive af i do not care to expand but still cool
- the more localised fufu hotels around karuizawa / kyoto
- high interest in foreign travel/tourism/RE personal concierge services

misc books/materials/galleries
- series of books by tsutaya books founder muneaki masuda; owner of private series of bookstores that sold the lifestyle concept of "bookstore + 'x'"; "cultural business"
- the tokyo toilet; descriptions of toilets in japan as landmarks of hospitality; urban redevelopment project in shibuya by Koji Yanai (founder of of uniqlo and fast retailing) in tandem w/ japanese gov
- the pokemon x kogei gallery in azabudai; fascinating japanese craftsmanship (shokunin) x local japanese consumer IPs
- teamlab; art collective in creative interactivity x unique, technical practices. azabudai one very mid, toyosu much better. amazing experiences though (especially across international expansion)

re; @sershokunin + his beautiful thread on japanese investments

"You may ask—why do I find Japan so exciting? The Japanese people take pride in the shokunin, or artisan, spirit—relentlessly striving towards perfection in their craft, taking pride in practicing even the most menial tasks day in and day out to improve. A sushi apprentice will clean, scrub, and prepare ingredients in the kitchen for years until they finally touch sushi rice for the first time. A Little Leaguer will practice eight to ten hours every Saturday and Sunday, dedicating hours to repeating the same movements and perfecting the same simple plays. Even Toyota’s Kaizen philosophy which propelled them to become the number one automaker in the world is rooted in this shokunin spirit. This tireless drive for perfection explains how Japan developed its world-class talent base; its unique coolness, and ubiquitous culture; and its reputation for producing the finest-quality products globally. I strongly believe that the next decade for Japan will be quite the opposite from the prior twenty."

🗻 home, sweet home.

[Minions @Minions]

liminional spaces

[Shyan Koul @shyankoul]

If PE was a serious asset class they would've bought brandy melville the second ozempic got fda approved

[Hunter Weiss @Hunter_Weiss]

wow

[aki @akiaeki]

@shreyamurthy love this!!

[aki @akiaeki]

@liangsays @bfl_ai @a16z absolute cinema wow

[derek barry miller @omniderek]

This looks like a festival lineup 😭😭

[Orbit ♪ BLM @OrbitPlusPlus]

why is gengar lowkey the kuromi of straight men

[vivian @b1ackparadex]

shoutout @tritongamingsd because i truly did not know collegiate gaming events could be this cool. this is what every collegiate event wish they were
posting artist alley haul later 😝

[aki @akiaeki]

@b1ackparadex @tritongamingsd so litty bitty

[Mazio ⚡️ @Maziodyne_]

Being told this changed my life

[Dexerto @Dexerto]

Uber has launched 'Uber Drift' in Japan for a limited time, offering professional tandem drifting sessions at Mobara Twin Circuit

Available for ¥30,000 ($190) from June 3 – July 1

[EMILY SUNDBERG @Emily_Sundberg]

Dream job for someone who is in 50+ group chats and has a folder full of screenshots: @sfstandard is hiring a "Moguls and Gosssip" intern

https://t.co/8MAskNifLg

[taoki @justalexoki]

can't believe i spent my whole life becoming Good At Computer only for Computer to become Better At Computer

[maja 🔭🍒 @majamediaco]

increasingly interested in the friction → optimisation → friction circle of life

we invent systems to remove effort, then realise the effort was often part of the meaning

the great irony of convenience culture is that after we remove every point of resistance, we start paying to get it back

vinyl, journaling by hand, film cameras, making coffee slowly

not all friction is created equal. some of it is where the life is

[aki @akiaeki]

@lucasquan @hardlaunching any hats left 🫪🫪

[Heidi N. Moore @moorehn]

this is adorable

[Abhz 💭 @Aabbhhz]

this is a24 and claude side by side.

whoever is doing claude’s brand/marketing is absolutely nailing it.

great case study.

[aki @akiaeki]

so happy to have ideated this production to life with @JimsYoung - one of the most talented people i’ve worked with and learned from on agents

s/o @stevenxiao_ for the lovely shoot!!

[Jims @JimsYoung_]

Most "agents" are basically interns with API access.

They ask you to subscribe to the Times. Download the file. Forward it over. You're not deploying an agent at all. You're managing one.

It's why we built Anyway. Anyway is the financial OS for agents that actually operates by itself. Pay, transact, and run your own business, with no babysitter required.

Comment "Anyway" to try it out.