community spaces for reconnecting with life
community spaces for reconnecting with life
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i have been in Japan for a few days now. i was quite terrified at first because i was literally in survival mode. Sleeping in airports, getting lost with very heavy bags, no showers.
now that im more grounded and cozy in the guesthouse that im staying at, i am doing everything i can to align my daily actions with the mission statements of whyspia. That's what I'll be writing about
i started writing this in a way that flows like a coherent story, but im experiencing WAY too much and it's not linear...so, im going to structure this in snippets of things that have been resonant to the whyspia mission
PROPERTY HUNT HURDLES: i still think buying property here is likely not possible for me due to mix of 1) the legal details for foreigners and 2) the cost for the property in places im interested in, but that would be the best way to do something ~tangible~ in terms of the mission. i was walking through Harajuku and saw bunch of posted signs of places for sale. Most likely only leasehold, but maybe thats all i need idk. The prices looked quite cheap at first glance, but im going to go back and look more in depth another day
CHURCH CHAT VIBES: im trying to go to as many aligned social events as possible. the Meetup app has been super valuable here. Facebook events too. The first event i attended was the IQ Cafe, hosted by the Mustard Seed Church. The theme of this meetup was around discussing the question: "does everything happen for a reason?" This event was really fun and intriguing for the curious mind. i appreciated the open mindedness there. Free event - which makes sense for a church. The free aspect and vibes resonate with whyspia, but i left feeling dissatisfied in terms of the group discussion simply because i didn't resonate with the people i happened to sit with...misalignment. HOWEVER, i came home to a random resonant encounter with one of my roommates - I'll discuss that more later
ALIGNED OR VALIDATED: im doing my best to be careful of social events that look aligned, but are just making me feel socially validated. Tonight i am thinking about going to a casual gamer meetup at a bar. The vibes resonate and it's Friday, so sounds fun. Although, im split on that versus a nerd night meetup talking about the future of the internet on the moon. im leaning more towards the latter now after discovering the event is being hosted at some sort of coworking space. I'll probably cover that in the next blog post
FAITH NETWORK: when i was on my way home from the IQ cafe meeting i mentioned, i saw a building that said Faith Network and the text on the building seemed to resonate. i later checked out their site. Their concept speaks directly to alignment, it's beautiful. Man, as foreigner with not enough money...doubt im a good connection for them, but this resonates so hard with whyspia
CRAMPED LIFE: i am living in a guesthouse from the Sakura Hotel company. Simply living there has been a learning experience. There's four of us living in one tiny room. The same thing is going on in multiple rooms around us. However, some people get their own private room for a little bit higher cost...i should have done that...but at the same time, living in a tiny room with three other people teaches you a lot about different social dynamics and your own personal preferences on space. Both the private and non-private rooms share common spaces.
POST-SCHOOL COMMUNITY VOID: i got to catch up with a fren that i met while studying abroad in Japan in 2018 because he now lives and works here in Japan. He mentioned how before he started work, he spent almost all of his time in the common areas of where he lived. As is the same for many people after school, he no longer has that community vibe of a common area anymore. Many people out there NEED community, but it's not easy. Unless you want to commit to some very specific hobby like a sport...but many people dont vibe with that. it's not aligned enough
COMMON AREA MAGIC: Having a common area like in this guesthouse is amazing. it's a fantastic way to 1) make spontaneously connections or plans 2) explicitly go and hangout when you want to connect, talk, or find plans. The geometry of it fosters community.
TRASH THERAPY: There's also other aspects of this specific common area. Like we all share responsibilities with trash and cleanup...and it is not super great to be honest. Thankfully i kind of enjoy cleaning as a break between my daily life, so it doesn't bother me much.
ARCHITECT WISDOM: my bedmate is an architect. He seemed to resonate deeply with whyspia. He said the prime thing i need is an architect, which i felt very uncertain about. But i did only mention the nontraditional social space idea. I've found the rest of the mission statements aren't as tangible as a physical space. it was really fun chatting with him about how spaces make you feel and why. And how Japanese spaces feel like cake for the eyes because it's in their culture to think about every single little detail of everything during design and architecture. Every piece is intentional. Plus, you can do this same thing with the design of social spaces - fostering various kinds of social interactions and vibes.
JAPAN FEELS RIGHT: previously, i think i mentioned not needing to be in Japan, but i know i need to be here. it's a sense that i cant get rid of and only becomes stronger and stronger. But maybe that's unrelated to whyspia and more of a personal journey...or both...idk
i have been in Japan for a few days now. i was quite terrified at first because i was literally in survival mode. Sleeping in airports, getting lost with very heavy bags, no showers.
now that im more grounded and cozy in the guesthouse that im staying at, i am doing everything i can to align my daily actions with the mission statements of whyspia. That's what I'll be writing about
i started writing this in a way that flows like a coherent story, but im experiencing WAY too much and it's not linear...so, im going to structure this in snippets of things that have been resonant to the whyspia mission
PROPERTY HUNT HURDLES: i still think buying property here is likely not possible for me due to mix of 1) the legal details for foreigners and 2) the cost for the property in places im interested in, but that would be the best way to do something ~tangible~ in terms of the mission. i was walking through Harajuku and saw bunch of posted signs of places for sale. Most likely only leasehold, but maybe thats all i need idk. The prices looked quite cheap at first glance, but im going to go back and look more in depth another day
CHURCH CHAT VIBES: im trying to go to as many aligned social events as possible. the Meetup app has been super valuable here. Facebook events too. The first event i attended was the IQ Cafe, hosted by the Mustard Seed Church. The theme of this meetup was around discussing the question: "does everything happen for a reason?" This event was really fun and intriguing for the curious mind. i appreciated the open mindedness there. Free event - which makes sense for a church. The free aspect and vibes resonate with whyspia, but i left feeling dissatisfied in terms of the group discussion simply because i didn't resonate with the people i happened to sit with...misalignment. HOWEVER, i came home to a random resonant encounter with one of my roommates - I'll discuss that more later
ALIGNED OR VALIDATED: im doing my best to be careful of social events that look aligned, but are just making me feel socially validated. Tonight i am thinking about going to a casual gamer meetup at a bar. The vibes resonate and it's Friday, so sounds fun. Although, im split on that versus a nerd night meetup talking about the future of the internet on the moon. im leaning more towards the latter now after discovering the event is being hosted at some sort of coworking space. I'll probably cover that in the next blog post
FAITH NETWORK: when i was on my way home from the IQ cafe meeting i mentioned, i saw a building that said Faith Network and the text on the building seemed to resonate. i later checked out their site. Their concept speaks directly to alignment, it's beautiful. Man, as foreigner with not enough money...doubt im a good connection for them, but this resonates so hard with whyspia
CRAMPED LIFE: i am living in a guesthouse from the Sakura Hotel company. Simply living there has been a learning experience. There's four of us living in one tiny room. The same thing is going on in multiple rooms around us. However, some people get their own private room for a little bit higher cost...i should have done that...but at the same time, living in a tiny room with three other people teaches you a lot about different social dynamics and your own personal preferences on space. Both the private and non-private rooms share common spaces.
POST-SCHOOL COMMUNITY VOID: i got to catch up with a fren that i met while studying abroad in Japan in 2018 because he now lives and works here in Japan. He mentioned how before he started work, he spent almost all of his time in the common areas of where he lived. As is the same for many people after school, he no longer has that community vibe of a common area anymore. Many people out there NEED community, but it's not easy. Unless you want to commit to some very specific hobby like a sport...but many people dont vibe with that. it's not aligned enough
COMMON AREA MAGIC: Having a common area like in this guesthouse is amazing. it's a fantastic way to 1) make spontaneously connections or plans 2) explicitly go and hangout when you want to connect, talk, or find plans. The geometry of it fosters community.
TRASH THERAPY: There's also other aspects of this specific common area. Like we all share responsibilities with trash and cleanup...and it is not super great to be honest. Thankfully i kind of enjoy cleaning as a break between my daily life, so it doesn't bother me much.
ARCHITECT WISDOM: my bedmate is an architect. He seemed to resonate deeply with whyspia. He said the prime thing i need is an architect, which i felt very uncertain about. But i did only mention the nontraditional social space idea. I've found the rest of the mission statements aren't as tangible as a physical space. it was really fun chatting with him about how spaces make you feel and why. And how Japanese spaces feel like cake for the eyes because it's in their culture to think about every single little detail of everything during design and architecture. Every piece is intentional. Plus, you can do this same thing with the design of social spaces - fostering various kinds of social interactions and vibes.
JAPAN FEELS RIGHT: previously, i think i mentioned not needing to be in Japan, but i know i need to be here. it's a sense that i cant get rid of and only becomes stronger and stronger. But maybe that's unrelated to whyspia and more of a personal journey...or both...idk
SLOW SPACES: watching just herds and herds of people walking down streets busy busy busy to get to their responsibilities. Meanwhile im just this person with no commitments trying to find aligned commitments. Many of these busy people like being busy, but many dont. Probably many more dont. For these people, i want to provide a space for slowness, for connection, to realign, to hangout, to be yourself, for coziness, for hope. All change is in their own agency, so i dont want to provide a permanent escape and i cant guarantee anything. But i do want to provide a source of life from the untraditional thing im doing. The same energy you feel when you go to a temple, or a cafe you vibe with, or a degenerate hangout spot with friends.
~~~recent whyspia-related posts~~~
SQUAD SPOT: places to go where you can explicitly find a crew
AIRPORT CHILL ZONES: there should be third places in airports. Funny enough, right after i posted this, i discovered at JFK they have a room you can go game in. They have a bunch of good-hardware gaming computers. i think they also had some arcade machines. But of course, it all costs money. Which isnt really the vibe i was speaking to in the original post
SOLO + CONNECTION BALANCE: geometry of social spaces fostering connection while still maintaining independence or crewness if desired
deeply felt this quote from Blue Exorcist when trying to explain what im doing in Japan and my vision for whyspia
somewhattt whyspia related, i want to make social spaces where this is more okay
from Toby Shorin. This is extremely resonant and gives me so much hope and inspiration. Especially since he is doing stuff in this domain that is ACTUALLY tangible.
the business world doesnt take sacrifice into account that much
PATH OR NAP: the nontraditional path is the only one for some people. Often due to refusal of being caught by limited systems...or is it just laziness? i dont mention laziness in the post, but later on Seref of index network messaged me mentioning that the untraditional path can be a sign of laziness. it doesnt ring true to me because it's more about vision capture...but who knows
COMMUNITY AGENTS: during that same chat with Seref, he mentioned that i could find 15-20 people that resonate with whyspia and turn that into an agent and scale it...and to him that seemed like a real sustainable solution for this project. To me...it doesnt really make sense. i know the agent economy is blossoming, but it doesnt seem tangible in the money domain...yet. Also, it's important for me that people that dont want to use any technology are included in my vision. i mentioned what Seref said to a few founders at Takeoff Tokyo and pretty much everyone responded with "agents as stewards of communities". Taking the form of a chatbot to help in infinite ways. And doing things behind the scene to help too
BUILDINGS BREATHE: pondering on if architecture and design are real and some hope about it. All the places here in Tokyo...i can feel life emanating from just their presence. Nurturing life like that is a key goal of my endeavors. Pondering if the architecture and design domains are paths i should go down...and if so, which one? The answer for most things in my life is both lol
some personal feelings related to whyspia trip at the very start of it
Sakura House
OFFICE SOCIAL SPACE: the Sakura House company office that runs my guesthouse has social space where you can work for free and they give you tea and chocolate. Of course you have to be resident of one of their houses, apartments, or hotels. This space has certainly been nice for me because i basically have ZERO privacy in the closet-sized room im sharing with three other people. And at all times that im awake, there's always someone asleep in that room due to weird schedules...so i cant really work in there
ART VILLAGE INSPO: in addition, the company has been hosting cool social events for residents. They hosted one where we toured an art village in Harajuku...and it ends up, that entire art village is owned and ran by Sakura House (maybe collaboratively with other people). This art village was really inspiring because the owner turned a bunch of apartments into an art gallery, a restaurant, event space, and more
NO-COST CANVAS: The art gallery seemed somewhat untraditional in the sense that ANY artist can rent space and then sell their art without any middleman. i loved this. Also, it gave me the chance to talk with the artists because most of them were there. One day i would love to try this same concept, EXCEPT artists dont even need to rent space, they can just put their art in the physical space for free. But of course different dynamics come up with that...*imagines artists fist fighting over space*
EVENT HOSTING: it also has me pondering on hosting events related to whyspia...but not sure that is a focus right now or not...
FOAM FACES NO SCREENS: i went to lunch at Reissue Cafe in Harajuku one day. They are known for putting faces and art in the cream/foam of the coffee you order. Every social space is different. This space was so cramped, i was basically eating shoulder-to-shoulder with everyone around me. Also, i very quickly realized this was not the kind of cafe you can just sit on a laptop in. Which i had planned to do. Just in case, i confirmed this with the waitress and my assumption was right. So, i respected the vibe: ate my food, drank my coffee, and then left. i was probably the only one in there that didnt get a coffee with art on it
WALKABLE HUB VISION: for the physical locations of whyspia (at least in the beginning), i want them to be located in walkable communities. You can walk to all necessities in life. And i want them to be in an area that is a hub. My current guesthouse is located in Sendagaya and this fits the criteria perfectly. You can walk basically everywhere. No car needed. Or you can take the train which can get you very far very quickly.
SLOW SPACES: watching just herds and herds of people walking down streets busy busy busy to get to their responsibilities. Meanwhile im just this person with no commitments trying to find aligned commitments. Many of these busy people like being busy, but many dont. Probably many more dont. For these people, i want to provide a space for slowness, for connection, to realign, to hangout, to be yourself, for coziness, for hope. All change is in their own agency, so i dont want to provide a permanent escape and i cant guarantee anything. But i do want to provide a source of life from the untraditional thing im doing. The same energy you feel when you go to a temple, or a cafe you vibe with, or a degenerate hangout spot with friends.
~~~recent whyspia-related posts~~~
SQUAD SPOT: places to go where you can explicitly find a crew
AIRPORT CHILL ZONES: there should be third places in airports. Funny enough, right after i posted this, i discovered at JFK they have a room you can go game in. They have a bunch of good-hardware gaming computers. i think they also had some arcade machines. But of course, it all costs money. Which isnt really the vibe i was speaking to in the original post
SOLO + CONNECTION BALANCE: geometry of social spaces fostering connection while still maintaining independence or crewness if desired
deeply felt this quote from Blue Exorcist when trying to explain what im doing in Japan and my vision for whyspia
somewhattt whyspia related, i want to make social spaces where this is more okay
from Toby Shorin. This is extremely resonant and gives me so much hope and inspiration. Especially since he is doing stuff in this domain that is ACTUALLY tangible.
the business world doesnt take sacrifice into account that much
PATH OR NAP: the nontraditional path is the only one for some people. Often due to refusal of being caught by limited systems...or is it just laziness? i dont mention laziness in the post, but later on Seref of index network messaged me mentioning that the untraditional path can be a sign of laziness. it doesnt ring true to me because it's more about vision capture...but who knows
COMMUNITY AGENTS: during that same chat with Seref, he mentioned that i could find 15-20 people that resonate with whyspia and turn that into an agent and scale it...and to him that seemed like a real sustainable solution for this project. To me...it doesnt really make sense. i know the agent economy is blossoming, but it doesnt seem tangible in the money domain...yet. Also, it's important for me that people that dont want to use any technology are included in my vision. i mentioned what Seref said to a few founders at Takeoff Tokyo and pretty much everyone responded with "agents as stewards of communities". Taking the form of a chatbot to help in infinite ways. And doing things behind the scene to help too
BUILDINGS BREATHE: pondering on if architecture and design are real and some hope about it. All the places here in Tokyo...i can feel life emanating from just their presence. Nurturing life like that is a key goal of my endeavors. Pondering if the architecture and design domains are paths i should go down...and if so, which one? The answer for most things in my life is both lol
some personal feelings related to whyspia trip at the very start of it
Sakura House
OFFICE SOCIAL SPACE: the Sakura House company office that runs my guesthouse has social space where you can work for free and they give you tea and chocolate. Of course you have to be resident of one of their houses, apartments, or hotels. This space has certainly been nice for me because i basically have ZERO privacy in the closet-sized room im sharing with three other people. And at all times that im awake, there's always someone asleep in that room due to weird schedules...so i cant really work in there
ART VILLAGE INSPO: in addition, the company has been hosting cool social events for residents. They hosted one where we toured an art village in Harajuku...and it ends up, that entire art village is owned and ran by Sakura House (maybe collaboratively with other people). This art village was really inspiring because the owner turned a bunch of apartments into an art gallery, a restaurant, event space, and more
NO-COST CANVAS: The art gallery seemed somewhat untraditional in the sense that ANY artist can rent space and then sell their art without any middleman. i loved this. Also, it gave me the chance to talk with the artists because most of them were there. One day i would love to try this same concept, EXCEPT artists dont even need to rent space, they can just put their art in the physical space for free. But of course different dynamics come up with that...*imagines artists fist fighting over space*
EVENT HOSTING: it also has me pondering on hosting events related to whyspia...but not sure that is a focus right now or not...
FOAM FACES NO SCREENS: i went to lunch at Reissue Cafe in Harajuku one day. They are known for putting faces and art in the cream/foam of the coffee you order. Every social space is different. This space was so cramped, i was basically eating shoulder-to-shoulder with everyone around me. Also, i very quickly realized this was not the kind of cafe you can just sit on a laptop in. Which i had planned to do. Just in case, i confirmed this with the waitress and my assumption was right. So, i respected the vibe: ate my food, drank my coffee, and then left. i was probably the only one in there that didnt get a coffee with art on it
WALKABLE HUB VISION: for the physical locations of whyspia (at least in the beginning), i want them to be located in walkable communities. You can walk to all necessities in life. And i want them to be in an area that is a hub. My current guesthouse is located in Sendagaya and this fits the criteria perfectly. You can walk basically everywhere. No car needed. Or you can take the train which can get you very far very quickly.
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