Awakening Your Ikigai: How the Japanese Wake Up to Joy and Purpose Every Day

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Kintsugi Wellness: The Japanese Art of Nourishing Mind, Body, and Soul

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Wabi Sabi: Japanese Wisdom for a Perfectly Imperfect Life

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The Power of Chowa: Finding Your Inner Strength Through the Japanese Concept of Balance and Harmony

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In Praise of Walking: A New Scientific Exploration

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Practical Guide to Ikigai.: How to Find Purpose, Happiness and Longevity Through Mini Habits, the Japanese Way

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The Way of Nagomi: The Japanese Philosophy of Finding Balance and Peace in Everything You Do

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The Art of Making Memories: How to Create and Remember Happy Moments

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Ikigai: The Japanese Secret Philosophy for a Happy Healthy Long Life With Joy and Purpose Every Day

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Life Time: Your Body Clock and Its Essential Roles in Good Health and Sleep

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The Little Book of Lykke: Secrets of the World’s Happiest People

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A Walk in the Wood: Meditations on Mindfulness with a Bear Named Pooh

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You Are Awesome: How to Navigate Change, Wrestle with Failure, and Live an Intentional Life

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The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing

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The Art of Happiness at Work

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Finding Your Element: How to Discover Your Talents and Passions and Transform Your Life

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What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast: And Two Other Short Guides to Achieving More at Work and at Home

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Real Happiness: The Power of Meditation: A 28-Day Program

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The Little Book of Hygge: Danish Secrets to Happy Living

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The Well-Gardened Mind: The Restorative Power of Nature

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The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter

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Stress Less, Accomplish More: Meditation for Extraordinary Performance

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Slow: Simple Living for a Frantic World

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The Ikigai Journey: A Practical Guide to Finding Happiness and Purpose the Japanese Way

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Ganbatte!: The Japanese Art of Always Moving Forward

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The Power of Ritual: Turning Everyday Activities into Soulful Practices

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Taming Your Gremlin (Revised Edition): A Surprisingly Simple Method for Getting Out of Your Own Way

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How to Ikigai: Lessons for Finding Happiness and Living Your Life's Purpose

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The Art of Stillness: Adventures in Going Nowhere

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The Art of Quiet Influence: Timeless Wisdom for Leading without Authority

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Passages: Predictable Crises of Adult Life

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101 Essays That Will Change The Way You Think

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Mastering Logical Fallacies: The Definitive Guide to Flawless Rhetoric and Bulletproof Logic

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The Book of Five Rings

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The Art of Living: Peace and Freedom in the Here and Now

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Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment

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Brain Training with the Buddha: A Modern Path to Insight Based on the Ancient Foundations of Mindfulness

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How to Be Free: An Ancient Guide to the Stoic Life

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Tao Te Ching: A New English Version

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Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals

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The Courage to Be Disliked: How to Free Yourself, Change Your Life, and Achieve Real Happiness

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Meditations of Marcus Aurelius

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The Holographic Universe: The Revolutionary Theory of Reality

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Conscious: A Brief Guide to the Fundamental Mystery of the Mind

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The Tao of Pooh

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The Conspiracy against the Human Race: A Contrivance of Horror

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The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing

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The Art of Communicating

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Summary: The Laws of Human Nature: by Robert Greene: Key Takeaways, Summary & Analysis

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Summary: How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen By David Brooks: Key Takeaways, Summary and Analysis

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The More of Less

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Dao De Jing

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The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

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The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse

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12 Rules for Life by Jordan B. Peterson - Book Summary: An Antidote to Chaos

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The Meaning of Happiness: The Quest for Freedom of the Spirit in Modern Psychology and the Wisdom of the East

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Many Lives, Many Masters: The True Story of a Prominent Psychiatrist, His Young Patient, and the Past-Life Therapy That Changed Both Their Lives

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Life Is a 4-Letter Word: Laughing and Learning Through 40 Life Lessons

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The Heretic's Handbook

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Summary of Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl

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The Courage to Be Happy: Discover the Power of Positive Psychology and Choose Happiness Every Day

Podcast episode

Grounding Techniques for Anxiety Relief: We have mentioned the effectiveness of grounding techniques in controlling anxiety several times in our posts and podcasts. From personal experience, we know that a sense of ungroundedness and disconnection can really increase feelings of anxiety, so we ...

Podcast episode

Gretchen Rubin ON: How Understanding Your Habits Allows You to Thrive in Work, Love and Life

Podcast episode

Stop Living on Autopilot with Antonio Neves: If you've ever felt stuck or are stuck right now, this episode is for you. Antonio Neves is an internationally recognized leadership speaker, author and award-winning journalist. For over 10 years, Antonio worked as a correspondent in New York City...

Podcast episode

10-Minute Meditation: Simple, Quiet Contentment in Nature

Podcast episode

100 Side Hustles

Podcast episode

Ryan Holiday on stoic philosophy 101 and ego is the enemy: Ryan Holiday is the author of "The Daily Stoic," "Ego is The Enemy," and "The Obstacle is The Way." In this episode Kevin and Ryan explore the basics of stoic philosophy, showing how you can reframe your thinking to be more like a stoic.

Podcast episode

Doing Project 333 with Courtney Carver: I'm excited that my friend Courtney Carver returns for this episode of the program. We focus our conversation around her book Project 333: The Minimalist Fashion Challenge That Proves Less Really is So Much More, which is a project I've undertaken and am

Podcast episode

The Urgent Life - Bozoma Saint John w/ Ashlee Eason & Stephanie Ike

Podcast episode

Don’t Take Anything Personally: How to Not Take Things Personally In the book, The Four Agreements, Miguel Ruiz outlines a code of conduct for creating love and happiness in your life. One of his Four Agreements is “Don’t Take Anything Personally. In this podcast I describe some of the

Podcast episode

#615: Dr. Andrew Weil — The 4-7-8 Breath Method, Cannabis, The Uses of Coca Leaf, Rehabilitating Demonized Plants, Kava for Anxiety, Lessons from Wade Davis, The Psychedelic Renaissance, How to Emerge from Depression, Tales from 50+ Visits to Japan, Matcha Benefits, and More

Podcast episode

Harness the Power of Your Anxiety with Dr. Chloe Carmichael: How to use your anxiety to fuel your success

Podcast episode

The Compound Effect: Jumpstart Your Income, Your Life, Your Success:  | Rerun: EP202. The Compound Effect (Originally aired: April 2018) Do You Have Self-Improvement Questions You’d Like Me To Cover? Email: Connect with me on: or About this episode Links / resources: Book Mentioned: The Compound...

Podcast episode

An Iowan Chef Classically Nurtures the American Sushi Culture: Our guest today is Robby Cook, who is the chef at Coral. Coral opened in October 2023 and is located next to Grand Central Station in Manhattan. Robby’s path to becoming a successful sushi chef is unique and impressive. He joined us on Episode 37 in 2016, when he was the executive chef at Morimoto, and talked about his intriguing journey to becomimg a successful sushi chef. Inspired by the world of sushi and its tradition, Robby studied at the California Sushi Academy. After graduation, he proved his talent at notable restaurants in New York, including BondST and Morimoto. There used to be a belief that great sushi could be made only by Japanese chefs trained in Japan, but now we see so many cases to disprove this idea. Robby is a perfect example: he not only understands the traditional value of sushi, but communicates it effectively to a global audience with his own sushi-making philosophy. On this episode, we will dis

Podcast episode

Kayoko: Former NHK Producer and Founder of Yoga Gives Back

Podcast episode

A Nomadic Fishmonger Is Inspiring the Future of Seafood: Our guest is Arimi Asai who is the co-founder of Fish & Dish Sakanaya Asai based in Tokyo. Fish & Dish Sakanaya Asai is a unique and highly inspiring fishmonger. When we buy seafood, most of us will go to a supermarket and purchase a piece of fish without knowing its whole shape. It is easy and convenient but the process reminds us that we have become very distant from how we used to eat fish. Arimi and her husband Kazuhiro have a mission to shrink the distance. Their innovative mom & pop business has no address and they are ready to deliver the freshest fish straight from the market to wherever their clients are. Not only that, they offer various catering and educational services to teach how a whole fish is broken down and comes to your plate. Their business started in 2015 and the idea of a fishmonger without a storefront has become popular through word-of-mouth recommendations among foodies and environmentalists alike.

Podcast episode

Episode 163: Born to Preserve the Koji Culture: "Our guest today is Koichi Higuchi of Higuchi Matsunosuke Shoten in Osaka, Japan. His business is to provide koji starters to manufacturers of traditional fermented foods in Japan, such as miso, soy sauce, sake ... you name it! Indeed, koji, the beneficial mold, is a quintessential element of Japanese food culture. Koji is also becoming a buzz word in the global culinary industry. For example, René Redzepi of Noma, the renowned restaurant in Denmark, included koji in his recent book ""The Noma Guide to Fermentation"". In this episode, Koichi will discuss his 6th generation-old family business, what koji is, how to use it, and much, much more!!!"

Podcast episode

All About Tuna/Maguro (And Sustainability): Our guest is Masamitsu Ishibashi who is the president and CEO of Misaki Megumi Suisan based in Japan. Founded in 1986, the company has been focused on processing and sales of fresh seafood, in particular tuna. Tuna, or Maguro in Japanese, is one of the most popular fish among sushi lovers. Not only does the fish have a very special place in Japanese food culture, but on the other hand, sustainability is a major issue nowadays and seafood including maguro is one of the frequently discussed areas.  Masamitsu is devoted to educating people around the world about the precious taste and flavors of maguro and at the same time he aims to become the most sustainable maguro purveyor in the world.  In this episode, we will discuss how important maguro is in Japanese food culture, the characteristics of different parts of maguro, how Masamitsu exercises sustainability, and much, much more!!!

Podcast episode

In Pursuit of Sustainability With the Power of Koji: Our guest is Tetsuji Ishigaki who is a scientist and the president & CEO of SOI inc. based in Shizuoka, Japan. The company produces sustainable foods and ingredients using Japanese koji mold.  Tetsuji has a strong mission to help to create a fully sustainable society by providing healthy products. It sounds like a cliché but what he does is real. His family started a koji manufacturing business in 1739 and with the deepest understanding of the Japanese national mold, Tetsuji has been inventing unique items, such as delicious snack bars made with coffee grounds.  In this episode, we will discuss Tetsuji’s fascinating family history, what koji is and why it is so unique and powerful to produce sustainable products, fascinating examples of his delicious and sustainable foods like zero-waste coffee syrup, what koji can do beyond making fermented foods, and much, much more!!!

Podcast episode

The Art of Yakitori: Our guest is Atsushi Kono who is the chef de cuisine at Chikarashi Isso in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan. Previously Atsushi was the executive chef and General Manager at Torishin, which is the destination for authentic yakitori in New York City. Chikarashi Isso opened in October 2019 and serves beautiful yakitori by Atsushi along with the executive chef Michael Jong Lim’s kappo-style Japanese dishes. Sushi and ramen became familiar terms around the world, but not many people know enough about yakitori. Yakitori simply means grilled chicken, but profound skills and craftsmanship are behind it. In this episode, we will discuss what yakitori is, how Atsushi got into the world of yakitori, why cooking ostensibly simple chicken skewers requires years to master and much, much more!!!

Podcast episode

Stubbornly Serving Sustainable Sushi in New York: Our guests are Jeff Miller, the chef/owner of Rosella and Bar Miller in the East Village in NYC, and James Dumapit, the executive chef at Bar Miller. They both worked at Uchiko in Austin, Texas, which is one of the most influential sushi restaurants in America. In 2017, Jeff opened Mayanoki, the first sustainable sushi restaurant in New York, with his business partner TJ Provenzano. They joined us on Episode 129 to discuss their unique philosophy. Since then, their business evolved into Rosella, which earned many accolades and was named one of the Best New Restaurants in America by Esquire Magazine in 2021. James joined Rosella shortly after its opening. In September 2023, the team opened Bar Miller, the 8-seat Omakase-only sushi bar where James leads the entire sushi bar with a pleasant energy and offers exciting culinary discoveries. Along with the expansion of the team’s business, Jeff has been deepening his knowledge and experience

Podcast episode

Shojin Ryori: Japanese Vegan ＆ Vegetarian Dishes: ​ Our guest is Elizabeth Andoh, who already joined us 9 times on Episodes 18, 61, 83, 99, 108, 131, 156, 180, 200 and shared her truly deep insight into traditional Japanese food culture. Elizabeth is a food writer and Japanese cooking instructor based in Tokyo and she has lived in Japan for over 50 years. She runs the culinary arts program called A Taste of Culture, which offers a great opportunity for non-Japanese people to explore Japanese culture through its food. Elizabeth is also the author of 6 cookbooks, including the award-winning “Washoku: Recipes from the Japanese Kitchen”, “Kibo: Recipes and Stories from Japan's Tohoku” and “Kansha: Celebrating Japan's Vegan and Vegetarian Traditions”Today’s topic is Shojin ryori. Plant-based foods are becoming increasingly popular globally for health and environmental awareness. Shojin ryori is the traditional Japanese vegan and vegetarian dishes that were developed around 800 years ago. I

Podcast episode

Living in Japan Will Change You

Podcast episode

Wabi Sabi Wellness: The Japanese Art of Perfectly Imperfect Living with Candice Kumai #159: In Japanese culture, if an object of value breaks, there is an art form that involves putting it back together with lacquer and golden powder – Kintsugi, or the art of golden repair. The repaired object is then considered more beautiful than it was...

Podcast episode

The 29th Generation of the Koji Merchant Family Demystifies the Magic Mold of Japan: Our guest is Yuichiro Murai, the 29th generation of Kojiya Sanzaemon based in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. Koji, which is also called the national mold of Japan, has been used to make a majority of anything delicious in Japanese cuisine, such as miso, soy sauce, sake, and shochu. In the last decade or so, koji has become a culinary keyword, especially among forward-minded top chefs like Rene Redzepi of Noma in Denmark, and Feran Adria in Spain. Yuichiro’s family has been selling koji products since 1390. His company’s lab has 3,000 types of koji, and he and his team select the right one for each of their clients based on their knowledge and experience accumulated over the six centuries. In this episode, we will discuss how Japanese and other Asian countries use koji differently, different forms of koji and how they are used, how we can use koji in our own kitchen, novel applications of koji beyond tr

Podcast episode

Kombu: Healthy, Sustainable, Delicious Sea Vegetables: Our guest is Yumi Komatsudaira, who is a recipe developer, food stylist, culinary instructor, and the president of K-Seaweed. Yumi grew up outside Tokyo, playing and snacking in her family’s seaweed factory. When we hear seaweed, many of us may think of the weeds by the beach that do not look particularly delicious, or even edible. But it is like looking at weeds coming out of the pavements on busy city streets. What we are talking about here about seaweed is the equivalent of plants from well-managed farmlands. In Japan, seaweeds are quintessential ingredients for their rich umami. Umami is the fifth taste after salty, sweet, sour and bitter and it enhances and mitigates these other four tastes to make food delicious. That is why Japanese dashi broth, which is made with seaweed, is indispensable in Japanese cuisine. Seaweed is also becoming a hot topic for its huge potential to make the world more sustainable. Not to mention,

Podcast episode

America’s Best Sushi Made in the Meat Kingdom: Our guest today is David Yoshitomo Utterback, the chef/owner of Yoshitomo in Omaha, Nebraska. Japanese sushi has become a big part of American food culture. The presence of many great non-Japanese sushi chefs in the U.S. proves that sushi does not belong only to Japan. These chefs serve to inspire the tradition and help push it further. David is a classic example of one of these chefs. He was nominated for Best Chef: Midwest by the James Beard Foundation in 2023, and this year, his restaurant Yoshitomo has been nominated for the 2024 Outstanding Restaurant Award by the Foundation as a semifinalist (the results of this competition will be announced on June 10th in Chicago). Also, the Washington Post named Yoshitomo one of America’s best sushi restaurants in December 2023. On this episode, we will discuss how David got into the world of sushi, how he studied sushi-making in Omaha, Nebraska (where beef is king), his original sushi that mer

Podcast episode

2467: Why You Almost Never See a Fat Japanese or How I Lost 5 Pounds in Tokyo by Leo Babauta of Zen Habits: Leo Babauta shares his personal insights and experiences from Tokyo that led to unexpected weight loss

Podcast episode

Discovering Shochu with iichiko: Our guest is Tetsuro Miyazaki, who is the General Manager at IICHIKO USA. iichiko is one of the most well-known shochu brands in Japan and abroad. The company was founded in 1958 and specializes in barley-based shochu products, which reflects the natural environment of Oita Prefecture in the south of Japan. iichiko shochu’s nickname is ""Downtown Napoleon"", meaning that it has the quality of the first-class famous brandy Napoleon at an approachable price. And iichiciko has received numerous awards at global stages such as the San Francisco World Spirits Competition and the International Spirits Competition. In this episode, we will discuss how the taste of shochu is affected by various elements like ingredients, the environment of the distillery and the production philosophy, how to drink shochu, great food pairings with shochu and much, much more!!!

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Living a Life of Adventure and Impact: Scotty Johnson

Podcast episode

Fourth Generation Sushi Chef Goes Global: Our guest is Yoshi Tezuka, the 4th generation sushi chef at Matsunozushi https://matsunozushi.com/en/ in Tokyo, which was founded in 1910. Yoshi is not just a great sushi chef, but also a global thinker. Before he became a sushi chef, Yoshi spent years abroad as a professional ski guide as well as a backpacker and traveled to over 50 countries. Now he cooks for a global audience worldwide on a whole variety of occasions, including the World Expo and the first lady luncheon at the G20 Summit. He was invited by the British Royal family to cook for them as well. Also, Yoshi actively educates students and tourists about sushi and Japanese culture through various programs. In this episode, we will discuss why Yoshi decided to make sushi for an international audience, the challenges he faces in making sushi outside Japan, his philosophy of sustainability, how to pair fish with wine (Yoshi is a certified wine sommelier too) and much, much