We met Tokonami and Mizuna on Harajuku St. in Tokyo, Japan. Tokonami (left) works in the Communications industry, and often visits his favorite boutique cocktail bar, Penny Lane, to take a brief moment for himself to unwind after a long workweek. Like many Japanese men and women living in the city, he typically works extremely long hours (on average 11-13/hrs per day). Interestingly enough, Tokonami’s work has taken him to New Jersey (which he loved) and Virginia for several different year-long stints (hence his amazing English). He is married with two children, and is very proud of his family. Mizuna (right), is a 19-year-old student studying Medicine in Tokyo, while simultaneously working as a bartender to help cover some of her expenses. As we both attempted to converse and navigate our way through the language barrier, she kept proclaiming that she was a “mutt”! At first I was confused as to the point of what she was trying to get across, but then she clarified that her father is Canadian, and her mother is Japanese, so she considers herself a “mutt”! I couldn’t help but laugh at her sweet nature, and found it quite interesting that she felt the need to explain her origins to a complete stranger!

Musically,

MV