From Tokyo to Los Angeles: Designing Between Two Worlds

After almost three years in Tokyo, I’ve recently made the big move back home to Los Angeles… and with that, I’m carrying a completely new perspective on design, culture, and life!

My time in Japan wasn’t just about living abroad; it was a crash course in understanding how people interact with technology, how design reflects culture, and how empathy transcends language. I started studying UI/UX design while living in Tokyo, and that combination, learning a new discipline in a foreign country, shaped the way I think about users more than any textbook ever could.

In Japan, design often thrives within constraints. Interfaces are dense with information, features are layered, and every detail, from icon placement to microcopy, has purpose. Compared to the minimalist, whitespace-heavy designs common in the West, Japanese digital products value context. They anticipate the need to inform and reassure the user. At first, it felt overwhelming, but soon I began to see the intentionality behind it — design as a mirror of society’s collective mindset: precise, considerate, and deeply user-aware.

Coming back to Los Angeles, the contrast is striking. Design here feels bold, expressive, and emotional — there’s more emphasis on storytelling and individuality. Where Tokyo taught me the beauty of structured order, LA reminds me to embrace creative freedom and experimentation. I find myself constantly balancing those two design philosophies: the clarity and warmth of Western UX with the intricate empathy of Japanese design.

Now that I’m home, I’m excited to grow my career in a space where I can merge those influences. I want to work on projects that bridge global perspectives — designing digital experiences that feel human, intuitive, and culturally aware.

In the next chapter of my career, I hope to keep exploring how technology connects people, across borders, languages, and lifestyles. My goal is to design experiences that make people feel seen, heard, and understood, no matter where they come from.

Tokyo taught me how to listen closely. Los Angeles is teaching me how to dream big.

And somewhere in between, that’s where my design story lives.