Writer in Tokyo ✍️ Essays on culture, business, and everyday life. HR leader turned essayist — exploring how stories shape work and society. Author of Letter from Tokyo on Substack. https://substack.com/@letterfromtokyohttps://bsky.app/profile/mtake1.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/mtake1.bsky.social/post/3mup5zulr3k2vDay 35 of #Shipaton2026 Demo video: audio done. Narration, captions, music, logo, somehow. Now the app screens. Recorded my iPhone via QuickTime, made the phone frame in Keynote. More tomorrow. Chip away over the weekend, maybe submit next week. #BuildInPublic #Shipaton @revenuecat.com04 Sep 2026 14:22 +0000at://did:plc:6pfmlto2glcfaztnaz2k2gk7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mup5zulr3k2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/mtake1.bsky.social/post/3muhmlnpppk2aDay 32. BLUE NIGHT and OPEN AIR got approved and are live. Four photo-based skins now: THE ENTRANCE, RED ROOM, BLUE NIGHT, OPEN AIR. #Shipaton2026 #BuildInPublic @revenuecat.com [contains quote post or other embedded content]01 Sep 2026 14:21 +0000at://did:plc:6pfmlto2glcfaztnaz2k2gk7/app.bsky.feed.post/3muhmlnpppk2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/mtake1.bsky.social/post/3muf5j2f5q225Day 31. Submitted two new photo skins I'd been working on since the weekend — BLUE NIGHT and OPEN AIR. OPEN AIR uses a daytime photo. White text turned out unreadable on it, switched to dark navy. Also fixed a seam bug in the share images. #Shipaton2026 #BuildInPublic @revenuecat.com31 Aug 2026 14:46 +0000at://did:plc:6pfmlto2glcfaztnaz2k2gk7/app.bsky.feed.post/3muf5j2f5q225https://bsky.app/profile/mtake1.bsky.social/post/3mu6qwd6wms2iWhy is it so easy to say “wanna do Mounjaro?” A diabetes drug becomes a verb. A reality show becomes a glow-up story. A 14-year-old’s thinness hits a record high. None of these started this year. New essay — link below. https://letterfromtokyo.substack.com/p/the-word-that-made-a-medicine-casualweekend?r=1tym9b&utm_medium=ios29 Aug 2026 01:45 +0000at://did:plc:6pfmlto2glcfaztnaz2k2gk7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mu6qwd6wms2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/mtake1.bsky.social/post/3mtyeqe4wbs27Day 26. Hype got approved and shipped. Wrote about it everywhere today — a note in Japanese, an X article and a LinkedIn post in English. Building a lineup alone is fun. But "would you pay to see this?" only becomes real once you show someone. That's what Hype is for. #Shipaton2026 #BuildInPublic26 Aug 2026 12:51 +0000at://did:plc:6pfmlto2glcfaztnaz2k2gk7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtyeqe4wbs27https://bsky.app/profile/mtake1.bsky.social/post/3mtyejawtpc27Wrote a longer piece on LinkedIn about the feature I just shipped for MyFes: Hype. Building a festival lineup alone is fun. But "would you actually pay to see this?" only becomes real once you show someone. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/would-you-pay-see-radiohead-beyonc%25C3%25A9-same-bill-masaru-takei-xnmoc #Shipaton2026 #BuildInPublic @revenuecat.com26 Aug 2026 12:47 +0000at://did:plc:6pfmlto2glcfaztnaz2k2gk7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtyejawtpc27https://bsky.app/profile/mtake1.bsky.social/post/3mtw4msofts23Day 25. Finally submitted the new update for review. "Hype" is the big one — prepped over summer break. Browse festivals other people made inside the app, react with "I'd go" if something catches your eye. Also added a home screen to choose between creating and browsing. #Shipaton2026 #BuildInPublic25 Aug 2026 15:20 +0000at://did:plc:6pfmlto2glcfaztnaz2k2gk7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtw4msofts23https://bsky.app/profile/mtake1.bsky.social/post/3mtvl443oss2gTokyo's office vacancy rate just hit 1.5% — the lowest of any major city on earth. Everyone calls it a recovery story. It might actually be a story about who gets to be in the room when something can only be passed down face to face. And who doesn't. https://letterfromtokyo.substack.com/p/what-can-only-be-passed-on-in-personworkday?r=1tym9b&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web25 Aug 2026 10:07 +0000at://did:plc:6pfmlto2glcfaztnaz2k2gk7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtvl443oss2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/mtake1.bsky.social/post/3mtjpdvbd6k2hA Japanese city’s ordinance made 27% “aware” of their phone use. Only 5% changed anything. A private app hit 1M downloads — no ordinance, just teens deciding on their own. Awareness isn’t the bottleneck. https://letterfromtokyo.substack.com/p/nobody-is-treating-gaming-disorder?r=1tym9b&utm_medium=ios20 Aug 2026 16:51 +0000at://did:plc:6pfmlto2glcfaztnaz2k2gk7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtjpdvbd6k2hhttps://bsky.app/profile/mtake1.bsky.social/post/3mte24pilac26Today's small bug find. Festivals with the new photo skins show the wrong background when someone opens the shared URL. The poster itself is fine. Forgot to register the new skins on the viewing page, so it falls back to a default. Fixing it when I'm back from break. #Shipaton2026 #BuildInPublic18 Aug 2026 10:48 +0000at://did:plc:6pfmlto2glcfaztnaz2k2gk7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mte24pilac26https://bsky.app/profile/mtake1.bsky.social/post/3mtdw5txq5s2hDay 18. v1.2 got approved! Had it set to auto-release, so it just went live on the store. All 8 templates are now free — 6 used to be paid. Also added two new photo-based skins (one free, one $1.99). Good timing too, heading into a short break starting today. #Shipaton2026 #BuildInPublic18 Aug 2026 09:37 +0000at://did:plc:6pfmlto2glcfaztnaz2k2gk7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtdw5txq5s2hhttps://bsky.app/profile/mtake1.bsky.social/post/3mtbwkwsbqc2vDay 17. Submitted v1.2 for review — all skins now free, plus two new photo-based ones. Taking a short break starting the day after tomorrow, so I set it to auto-release this time. If approved, it just goes live on its own. Fingers crossed. #Shipaton2026 #BuildInPublic @revenuecat.com17 Aug 2026 14:39 +0000at://did:plc:6pfmlto2glcfaztnaz2k2gk7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtbwkwsbqc2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/mtake1.bsky.social/post/3mt6ofuqmz22aDay 16. Already working on post-launch updates, hoping to roll things out in stages through late August and September. Today's piece: prepping new poster backgrounds. Might get to app-side work and submitting for review late tomorrow night. #Shipaton2026 #BuildInPublic @revenuecat.com16 Aug 2026 07:35 +0000at://did:plc:6pfmlto2glcfaztnaz2k2gk7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mt6ofuqmz22ahttps://bsky.app/profile/mtake1.bsky.social/post/3mt4jkmffwk2mMyFes lets you build legendary festivals that never happened. Woodstock '69, if I'd been there. How much would I pay to see this? A lot. Would you pay to see this lineup? 🎸 #MyFes #JimiHendrix #JanisJoplin https://my-fes.vercel.app/f/d873fc5a-8d81-467a-9dc5-17f612c33fea #Shipaton2026 #BuildInPublic #shipaton15 Aug 2026 11:02 +0000at://did:plc:6pfmlto2glcfaztnaz2k2gk7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mt4jkmffwk2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/mtake1.bsky.social/post/3mt4hcek23k2yhttps://letterfromtokyo.substack.com/p/shipping-a-daydreamwisdom-tokyo021?r=1tym9b&utm_medium=ios15 Aug 2026 10:22 +0000at://did:plc:6pfmlto2glcfaztnaz2k2gk7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mt4hcek23k2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/mtake1.bsky.social/post/3mt4bgx2ick2oDay 15. Testing after launch, I noticed festivals I'd just created weren't showing up on the homepage or gallery, saved but not appearing. Turns out the pages were serving frozen HTML from build time. Fixed in about 30 minutes. Caught it early, glad about that. #Shipaton2026 #BuildInPublic15 Aug 2026 08:37 +0000at://did:plc:6pfmlto2glcfaztnaz2k2gk7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mt4bgx2ick2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/mtake1.bsky.social/post/3mt2coqe3gc24A magazine cover made me want to see Niemeyer's buildings. Indonesia's new capital is almost finished, and almost empty. Brasília took 60 years to fill in. Japan can't agree what its "sub-capital" is even for. Is a city more than its blueprint? https://letterfromtokyo.substack.com/p/a-city-not-built-for-livingweekend?r=1tym9b&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web14 Aug 2026 13:54 +0000at://did:plc:6pfmlto2glcfaztnaz2k2gk7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mt2coqe3gc24https://bsky.app/profile/mtake1.bsky.social/post/3mszvpjopl223Day 14. Got a second rejection today and felt down… but sent back the info + a recording, and it got approved. MyFes is finally live! Just in time for Japan's biggest summer festivals. Can't make it to a festival this year? Build your own. https://apps.apple.com/app/myfes/id6796582075 #BuildInPublic #Shipaton14 Aug 2026 10:02 +0000at://did:plc:6pfmlto2glcfaztnaz2k2gk7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mszvpjopl223https://bsky.app/profile/mtake1.bsky.social/post/3mswgtf72n226Day 13. Up early. 4:34am — review email. Rejected… but only procedural stuff (an IAP I forgot to submit). Nothing about the app. Fixed it all and resubmitted before my day job started. A reviewer had actually built a test festival in the app. It worked. #BuildInPublic #Shipaton @revenuecat.com13 Aug 2026 00:58 +0000at://did:plc:6pfmlto2glcfaztnaz2k2gk7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mswgtf72n226https://bsky.app/profile/mtake1.bsky.social/post/3msvbx7a6y22sDay 12. Used the weekend/holiday wait time to rework the LP homepage and the app icon. Was stuck on the visual direction for a while — finally found it. Once this actually ships, I want to write more about it somewhere. #Shipaton2026 #BuildInPublic #Shipaton @revenuecat.com12 Aug 2026 13:58 +0000at://did:plc:6pfmlto2glcfaztnaz2k2gk7/app.bsky.feed.post/3msvbx7a6y22shttps://bsky.app/profile/mtake1.bsky.social/post/3msvbq6xbts2sDay 12. No word from Apple review after 5 days, so I requested expedited review. Request itself got accepted right away — still waiting on the actual result though. Hoping it lands before Aug 14-15. If you're stuck waiting too, this might help. #Shipaton2026 #BuildInPublic #Shipaton @revenuecat.com12 Aug 2026 13:54 +0000at://did:plc:6pfmlto2glcfaztnaz2k2gk7/app.bsky.feed.post/3msvbq6xbts2shttps://bsky.app/profile/mtake1.bsky.social/post/3mssg3ptxns2rA Japanese radio show holds elections for the country’s favorite supermarket. The 2024 winner and the ninth-place chain are now owned by the same holding company. The listeners vote for stores.The profits merge somewhere else. What exactly is a supermarket vote for? https://open.substack.com/pub/letterfromtokyo/p/japans-favorite-supermarket-as-voted?r=1tym9b&utm_medium=ios11 Aug 2026 10:34 +0000at://did:plc:6pfmlto2glcfaztnaz2k2gk7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mssg3ptxns2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/mtake1.bsky.social/post/3msn4chegb22xDay 9. No word from Apple review yet — probably slower over the weekend. Waiting around felt unproductive, so I built out the next update instead. Terms/privacy links, a report flow, duplicate artist prevention. Can't wait to get this out. #Shipaton2026 #BuildInPublic #Shipaton @revenuecat.com09 Aug 2026 07:55 +0000at://did:plc:6pfmlto2glcfaztnaz2k2gk7/app.bsky.feed.post/3msn4chegb22xhttps://bsky.app/profile/mtake1.bsky.social/post/3mslbinvko22iDay 8. Realized my share cards were unreadable when shrunk in a timeline — text too small. Restructured them like a poster (title + headliners), bumped up font size. Shapes how sharing looks. Also dropped the "beta" label today. #Shipaton2026 #BuildInPublic @revenuecat.com08 Aug 2026 14:23 +0000at://did:plc:6pfmlto2glcfaztnaz2k2gk7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mslbinvko22ihttps://bsky.app/profile/mtake1.bsky.social/post/3msirfhxxik26Day 7. Fixed a landmine before launch — Supabase's free tier auto-pauses after a week of no traffic, silently killing shared URLs. Set up a daily ping to fix it. Also limited creation to app only. Web version is now for viewing, sharing, reacting. #Shipaton2026 #BuildInPublic @revenuecat.com07 Aug 2026 14:29 +0000at://did:plc:6pfmlto2glcfaztnaz2k2gk7/app.bsky.feed.post/3msirfhxxik26https://bsky.app/profile/mtake1.bsky.social/post/3msijmk3o2s26AI is making some blue-collar jobs “unreplaceable.” So why can’t everyone reach them? Wrote about a licensing exam problem I found at an HVAC contractor in Isesaki, Japan — and what it says about the US “blue-collar billionaire” story. https://open.substack.com/pub/letterfromtokyo/p/the-wall-wasnt-the-exam-it-was-finding?r=1tym9b&utm_medium=ios07 Aug 2026 12:10 +0000at://did:plc:6pfmlto2glcfaztnaz2k2gk7/app.bsky.feed.post/3msijmk3o2s26https://bsky.app/profile/mtake1.bsky.social/post/3msgdqu5pok2wDay 5. Found it an unused feature was dragging in another one, crashing the app. Deleted it, rebuilt, tested on my phone. Made it through creating a poster with a fake lineup. Resubmitted for review. (Share doesn't save the image yet — fixing that next) #Shipaton2026 #BuildInPublic @revenuecat.com06 Aug 2026 15:20 +0000at://did:plc:6pfmlto2glcfaztnaz2k2gk7/app.bsky.feed.post/3msgdqu5pok2whttps://bsky.app/profile/mtake1.bsky.social/post/3msdsdj5aqc2tDay 4. Submitted to Apple review today after a full checklist — UI cleanup, copy, privacy questionnaire. Then installed it on my iPhone via TestFlight. Crashed on launch — worked fine on simulator, not on real device. Found the cause. Fixing tomorrow. #Shipaton2026 #BuildInPublic @revenuecat.com05 Aug 2026 15:03 +0000at://did:plc:6pfmlto2glcfaztnaz2k2gk7/app.bsky.feed.post/3msdsdj5aqc2thttps://bsky.app/profile/mtake1.bsky.social/post/3msbaysp4dc2rDay 3. Certificates, provisioning profiles — stuff I had zero familiarity with. Working through it with Claude, local builds kept failing on signing errors. Talked through other options and switched to cloud builds. Worked on the first try, which was a relief. #Shipaton2026 #BuildInPublic04 Aug 2026 14:47 +0000at://did:plc:6pfmlto2glcfaztnaz2k2gk7/app.bsky.feed.post/3msbaysp4dc2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/mtake1.bsky.social/post/3ms6qspfc4c2lDay 2. No coding today — rewrote the privacy policy and terms of service instead. Not glamorous, but it counts. Day 2 #Shipaton2026 #BuildInPublic @revenuecat.com03 Aug 2026 14:52 +0000at://did:plc:6pfmlto2glcfaztnaz2k2gk7/app.bsky.feed.post/3ms6qspfc4c2l