Ikigai with Jennifer Shinkai Jennifer Shinkai

Welcome to another episode of season three of the Ikigai with Jennifer Shinkai podcast. On the podcast this week I got to sit down with Tengyo Kura, a self professed vagabond. Tengyo has a beautiful outlook on life that has propelled him around the world to connect with many people from different cultures, countries and experiences. Vagabondism is how Tengyo lives his life and is directly connected to his ikigai, and is a way for him to experience true connection to other people. Tengyo has some amazing insights to share with you all that will leave you truly inspired to seek out more true connection in your own life!
If you enjoyed this episode and it inspired you in some way, we’d love to hear about it and know your biggest takeaway. 
In this episode you’ll hear:
How teaching languages to students made Tengyo realise he was a storyteller at heartWhy we can never truly understand each other completely, but how love and respect lead to true connectionWhat vagabondism means to Tengyo & what we can learn from people living a vagabond lifeTengyo’s advice for those interested in experiencing vagabondism for themselves
About Tengyo Kura:
Tengyo was born in 1972, and studied anthropology at a university in Tokyo.
Since 2001, Tengyo has been living as a vagabond (stranger) in various parts of the world.
Tengyo taught English at a university in Mongolia, was a language teacher at a law school in Sri Lanka and encountered the Tsunami in 2004. He was a lecturer of Contemporary Japanese Culture at a university college in Norway (2005-2009), and organized the Hiroshima A-bomb exhibition in cooperation with the City of Hiroshima and the Nobel Peace Committee in 2008. He was a Japanese language and cultural teacher at a secondary school in Latvia (2011-2012), and was nominated for the Best Teacher Award in the capital city of Riga in 2011. 
Tengyo lived in India and other Asian countries and wrote stories for his storytelling work “Chronicle of Vagabondism” in 2013. He collaborated with Latvian artists for the EU Capital of Culture Commemorative Event in Riga, Latvia in 2014. He lived in several countries in South America and wrote stories for his storytelling work “Chronicle of Vagabondism” from 2014 to 2016. Tengyo also created a storytelling artwork "The Tokyo Vagabond x Ueno" in 2017. Tengyo was a storyteller of an exchange program for TURN, a big cultural project initiated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (2017-2020). He also worked with Cocoroom, an art NPO in the biggest Japanese homelessness community in Osaka City (2020-2022), and was appointed as a chief member of the NPO in 2022.
Tengyo resumed activities in Africa in November 2022, and introduced a Japanese concept of social inclusive programs to countries in the southern part of Africa. Tengyo is now carrying out various activities called African Jamboree 2025 that emphasize cultural exchange between Japan and some African nations until 2025.


Connect with Tengyo:
Website: https://vagabond.link/


Connect with Jennifer:
Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifershinkai/ 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jennifershinkaicoach 
Website: https://jennifershinkai.com/ 
Instagram Coaching and Podcast: a href="https://www.instagram.com/ikigaiwithjennifershinkai/" rel="noopener noreferrer"...

Welcome to Season 3 of Ikigai with Jennifer Shinkai!
Adrian Francis is the filmmaker behind the powerful documentary Paper City, exploring the impact of the firebombing of Tokyo in 1945 and the ongoing struggle for it to be acknowledged and remembered. Adrian was brave enough to come on the show at a point where he has not figured out his next steps yet. I thought this was an opportunity not to be missed: to hear from someone in the midst of a transition after completing a major project. If you are also going through a period of transition and haven’t got it all figured out, I think you will find much solace and inspiration in this episode. All those questions? Those hard to grasp ideas and concepts that feel so murky right now? Totally normal…in fact, an essential part of the process!
If you enjoyed this episode and it inspired you in some way, we’d love to hear about it and know your biggest takeaway. 
In this episode you’ll hear:
How Adrian came to make a film about the firebombing of TokyoWhat happens when you finish a project that has been the main focus of your lifeHow you can find meaning for your next challengeFlashing forward and backward in our lives to see what our values are independent of current circumstances
About Adrian
Originally from Australia, Adrian Francis has lived in Tokyo for 17 years, working as a teacher, writer, and documentary filmmaker. He majored in documentary film at the Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne University. Francis directed the award-winning documentary short, Lessons from the Night, which premiered at Sundance Film Festival. He was invited to participate in the Berlinale Talents program at the Berlin Film Festival, where he began developing the project that would become Paper City—his first feature-length film. Paper City premiered at the Melbourne International Film Festival in 2021 and has screened theatrically in Japan, and internationally at festivals and through Al Jazeera's Witness series. It has won numerous awards, including the Audience Award at the Tokyo Documentary Film Festival, an ATOM (Australian Teachers of Media) Award for Best History Documentary, and Best Emerging Director at the Melbourne Documentary Film Festival. He recently gave a TEDxWasedaU talk on the bombing of civilians, Paper City: Memory, Forgetting, and the Firebombing of Tokyo. Most recently, Adrian has become interested in what we can do to take climate change action.
Things mentioned in the episode:
Paper City Screening:
March 1-7 at Eigakan Stranger
Screening daily at 11:20 (with English subtitles)
3 Chome-7-1 Kikukawa, Sumida City, Tokyo 130-0024
https://stranger.jp/movie/2541/
TEDxWasedaU Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFr3U3bbuMg
Connect with Adrian and find out more about Paper City:
Paper City Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/papercitytokyo/
Paper City Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/papercitytokyo
Paper City X: https://twitter.com/papercitytokyo
Paper City Website: papercityfilm.com
Adrian’s Instagram: a href="https://www.instagram.com/_adrian_francis_/" rel="noopener noreferrer"...

Content Warning: In this episode of the podcast David Macdonald and I have a frank discussion of mental illness, depression, suicidal ideation and suicidal thoughts.
If you are in Japan and want to talk to someone about these issues please consider contacting the Tokyo English lifeline at https://telljp.com/.
Today on the podcast we have a very important conversation with David Macdonald about mental health challenges. Originally from Canada, David is CEO of an independent advisory and consulting firm, focused on supporting Japanese companies go global, and global companies come to Japan, especially in media and tech. Whilst in the corporate world David experienced some mental health challenges that led to a diagnosis of depression and then later bipolar disorder. In this episode David and I discuss what ikigai means to someone for whom simply getting out of bed in the morning is their reason to get out of bed.
If you enjoyed this episode and it inspired you in some way, we’d love to hear about it and know your biggest takeaway. 

In this episode you’ll hear:
What brought David to Japan in the 90sWhat it was like for David to be succeeding in his corporate career while simultaneously experiencing depression and being diagnosed as bipolarThe importance of being honest at work and at home about the internal challenges you are facingAbout the work of a Japanese firm, Tech Doctors, using data from wearable devices to improve diagnoses and therapies for various illnessesWhat you can do if you think someone you know is experiencing a mental health challenge like depression

About David:
David is CEO of an independent advisory and consulting firm, focused on supporting Japanese companies go global, and global companies come to Japan, especially in media and tech.  David brings decades of international experience, including strategic leadership, general management, culture development and talent strategy, and a rich multicultural background.

A Canadian native with formative years in Germany and the UK, David came to Japan in 1995.  Armed with a BA (Honors) in History and Politics (International Relations) and an MSc in East Asian Business, he also holds several qualifications in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Governance, and Cross-cultural Leadership and Management, and is a strong advocate of mental health awareness in the workforce, and is very open with his own struggles with bipolar disorder.

He helped pioneer NTT DoCoMo’s non-Japanese team in 1999, with the i-mode mobile internet service.  His trajectory included key roles at major media and tech brands like Disney, Google (YouTube), and Discovery as GM and President for Japan.  Much of his work at Discovery focused on transformation, and post-merger with Warner Media, he steered the Discovery business and served as VP for Networks. 

He also serves as an Independent Director for Tokyo Prime traded KADOKAWA CORPORATION, as a member of the remuneration committee, and stewards diverse non-profits as a member of their boards.

Things mentioned in the episode:
David’s TedXtalk: https://www.ted.com/talks/david_macdonald_let_s_talk_about_mental_health


Connect with David:
Website: http://djmac.jp
LinkedIn: a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/djmacdonald/" rel="noopener noreferrer"...

Happy Holidays everyone! This can be a time that tests our health and wellness goals, so this episode’s guest is here to help. Menya Hinga is an online health and fitness coach and co-founder of SOGO Fitness—Japan’s largest non-profit fitness community. Menya has helped hundreds of individuals and numerous organizations make better decisions related to fitness, habits and health. Listen to the episode to feel more empowered and confident in your ability to make changes in your life!
If you enjoyed this episode and it inspired you in some way, we’d love to hear about it and know your biggest takeaway. 
In this episode you’ll hear:
How an online health and fitness coach is different to a personal trainerWhat fitness autonomy is and why Menya strives to help his clients achieve itWhat made Menya reassess his relationship to alcohol and drinkingThe importance of your environment when making big changes in your lifeHow Menya empowers people to believe in their own ability to change


About Menya:
Menya helps high-performers who are struggling to manage stress and weight gain, learn to stress less, move more, and eat better in order to transform their health and performance.
As an expat, father of 3 (soon to be 4!), and personal trainer turned online health and fitness coach, Menya knows how difficult it can be to create work-life balance while wearing many different hats.
So for more than a decade he’s helped hundreds of individuals and numerous organizations make better decisions related to fitness, habits and health as a health and fitness coach, personal trainer, and co-founder of SOGO Fitness—Japan’s largest non-profit fitness community.

Connect with Menya:
Website: www.menyahinga.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/menyahinga/ 
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/menyahinga
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/menyahinga/

Connect with Jennifer
Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifershinkai/ 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jennifershinkaicoach 
Website: https://jennifershinkai.com/ 
Instagram Coaching and Podcast: https://www.instagram.com/ikigaiwithjennifershinkai/
Instagram Artist: https://www.instagram.com/jennifershinkai/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ikigaiwithjennifershinkai/

On this latest episode of Ikigai with Jennifer Shinkai I talk to Rionne McAvoy who I first came into contact with through their documentary film “The Ones Left Behind: The Plight of Single Mothers in Japan.” The film is an incredibly moving look at an often ignored aspect of life in Japan for many mothers and their children, as well as helping to improve their living conditions. 
Listen to the episode to hear more about the documentary, as well as learning how Rionne found his ikigai in filmmaking, martial arts and pro wrestling!
If you enjoyed this episode and it inspired you in some way, we’d love to hear about it and know your biggest takeaway. 
In this episode you’ll hear:
How Rionne got started in martial artsWhat brought Rionne to JapanAbout becoming a pro wrestler in his thirtiesAbout Rionne’s love of filmmakingWhat led Rionne to make The Ones Left Behind, a documentary on single mothers in Japan

About Rionne:
Rionne McAvoy is a documentary filmmaker originally hailing from the Gold Coast in Australia. Residing in Tokyo for almost 20 years, his documentary "The Ones Left Behind: The Plight of Single Mothers in Japan" is a shining light down the path of improving the living conditions for single parents both in Japan and around the world. His documentary delves deep into Japanese society culture and history to expose a side of Japan that many refuse to admit exists. 

Connect with Rionne:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/IamRionne
Website: https://japanmediaservices.com/

Film Twitter: https://twitter.com/singlemomjapan
Film Instagram: instagram.com/onesleftbehind
Film Website: onesleftbehind.com
Trailer for film: https://vimeo.com/772395650

Connect with Jennifer:
Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifershinkai/ 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jennifershinkaicoach 
Website: https://jennifershinkai.com/ 
Instagram Coaching and Podcast: https://www.instagram.com/ikigaiwithjennifershinkai/
Instagram Artist: https://www.instagram.com/jennifershinkai/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ikigaiwithjennifershinkai/

The COVID-19 lockdowns across the world were a very stressful time for a lot of us, but there were also a lot of stories of positive community building and support that came out of that time. One of those stories was that of Frock Up Friday, a facebook group started by friends Bev and Suzie in the UK. The page started as a place where they and their friends could get dressed up on a Friday night  and post pictures of their fabulous outfits! After a few weeks the page had amassed thousands of members, well beyond Bev and Suzie’s intended group of friends and family. On the podcast I talk to Bev and Suzie about Frock Up Friday, the ways the group has promoted values like inclusion, compassion and self care, and how this all relates to their ikigai.
If you enjoyed this episode and it inspired you in some way, we’d love to hear about it and know your biggest takeaway. 
In this episode you’ll hear:
What led Bev and Suzie to start Frock Up FridayHow the group has helped people feel more connected and less lonelyAbout how dressing up for fun on Fridays has led people to be more confident and creativeHow the group brings different types of people together and lets them learn from one another
About  Frock Up Friday:
In March 2020 during the lockdowns at the beginning of the COVID 19, two friends Bev and Suzie decided to dress up on Fridays, pretend like they were going out, and post their photos on a Facebook group page they created called Frock Up Friday. They invited their friends to join the group and share photos of their Friday outfits. 
After just a few weeks the group had over 13,000 members worldwide.
Initially the group was just about dressing creatively and sharing styles but it’s become something so much more. Frock Up Friday for many people became an escape from the virus; from the impact of lockdown; from politics; and from anxieties of personal battles in health, mental health, body image and gender issues to suggest a few. 
Frock Up Friday is about promoting inclusion and self care, sharing compassion, encouraging zero negativity, frocking up without costing the earth, and encouraging people to dress for dopamine!  
 
Connect with Frock Up Friday:
Website: https://www.frockupfriday.com/
Book: https://www.frockupfriday.com/the-book
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/222855365767059/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frockupfriday/

Connect with Jennifer
Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifershinkai/ 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jennifershinkaicoach 
Website: https://jennifershinkai.com/ 
Instagram Coaching and Podcast: https://www.instagram.com/ikigaiwithjennifershinkai/
Instagram Artist: https://www.instagram.com/jennifershinkai/
YouTube: a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/ikigaiwithjennifershinkai/" rel="noopener noreferrer"...