About

30+ Years of career experience backed by a half century of life experience.

I am an American

Born and raised in the US, I am a sansei-yonsei, or third/fourth generation American of Japanese heritage. In the photograph on the home page, my grandfather stands alongside Crown Prince Naruhito. I come from a family defined by service. My great-uncles served in the 442nd, my father served in the U.S. Army, and our family farmed the land to feed our fellow Americans.

That background is hard to ignore. When your family history is that tied to the relationship between two countries, you don’t look at market entry as just another consulting job. If a Japanese concept comes to the US and fails because nobody understood the ground reality, it’s hard not to take it personally.

As a kid, I was identified and placed in the school’s ‘Gifted and Talented’ program (identical to the GATE program). I was always amused that the acronym ‘GT’ perfectly matched my initials, especially since I never actually viewed myself as either gifted or talented. The program recognized that I processed information, solved problems, and learned entirely differently than the rest of the room.
Districts generally targeted the top 2% to 5% of the student population, relying on tests like the WISC (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children) or the CogAT (Cognitive Abilities Test) to determine placement.

Data-driven research and strategy/problem-solving

Worked towards avoiding “coming up with solutions to a problem that does not exist.” Without it, it is all too common to see cookie-cutter solutions that are aesthetically driven rather than solutions addressing real issues, users, customers, and challenges that align with your brand.

My personal brand is built on passion and purpose, I’m driven by both. Beyond that, I’m a collaborator and an autodidact, with integrity and an obsessive work ethic behind everything I do.

Putting ego aside and utilizing the resources and knowledge/experience of others unleashes the potential of the team and business.

Problems I Help Solve as a Collaborator:

We aren’t sure why customers aren’t responding.
Our brand story isn’t matching customer expectations.
We think we have a strong concept, but we want to stress-test it.
We are entering a new market and want an outside perspective.
We suspect there are risks or blind spots we aren’t seeing.
We need an independent assessment before making a major investment.

Who I Help Solve For:

Restaurant groups
Hospitality concepts
Food brands
Retail concepts
Regional Japanese businesses
Founder with expansion ambitions

I have contracted for dotcoms in the healthcare industry, Chevron in San Ramon, to ad agencies (P&G: Procter & Gamble to PepsiCo)

SMB
Brand Strategist
Collaborating with Founders and Co-founders
Digital Marketing Specialist
Marketing Director
Product Marketing
User Experience Design/Research

There is a massive misunderstanding of branding and its role in the US, and Disney and many other major companies are not immune to it. The same is true globally, which is why some of the world’s largest economies have yet to produce truly recognizable, lasting brands.

ENTERPRISE
Cultural Brand Strategist
Brand Strategist
Product Marketing
User Experience Design/Research

Before you spend millions entering the United States, talk to someone who has spent a decade studying how Japanese concepts are received by Americans.

LOCATIONS

Born and raised in Denver, Colorado (4th generation) in the Cherry Hills Village area.
10 years in the SF Bay Area: San Jose and Hayward, CA, aka Silicon Valley.
14 years in Los Angeles: From the San Gabriel Valley (SGV) to Newport Beach, Orange County, CA,
Currently in the process of obtaining a Teijusha Visa (Japan).

言語背景

私は日系アメリカ人四世であり、英語を母語としています。現在、日本への移住に向けて準備を進めており、移住後は本格的に日本語の学習を開始し、ビジネスおよび日常のコミュニケーション能力を高めていく予定です。

Preferred industries/INTERESTS

In Colorado, my family home sits just .06 miles from a ULA corporate office. My uncle Albert worked for JPL, and my late cousin Lance was at Lockheed Martin.

Aerospace
Especially: Military, SpaceX, Hermeus, ULA
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Architecture
Automotive/Motorsports
Biking
Boating & Maritime
Film
Firearms & Target Shooting
Food Culture
Geopolitics
Martial Arts
Primarily judo: my dad, brother, and myself
Financial Markets

My great-uncles Hank and Francis served in the 442nd/100th, my great-aunt in the American military (DoD/USFJ), my uncle Richard Goto in the Korean War, and my late father in the U.S. Army. I come from a service family, whether through military service or farming to feed millions of our fellow Americans.

Background/SKILLS

Entrepreneur:
Not going out of business was a key criterion, and all my recent endeavors aided others in not going out of business by emphasizing each action and dollar spent has a consequence (no cookie-cutter solutions).
Blog/Writer:
Oishii Desu is one of the largest, if not the largest online resources (16-21k to 33-38k unique/visitors per month ) for Japanese food and culture.

Over the course of a year, I wrote a 94,000-word cultural analysis of American food culture as a Japanese American. As a collaborator by nature, I submitted to literary agents first, knowing the right partnership could elevate the work, earning a full manuscript read from DeFiore & Company in the process.
Like Andy Weir with The Martian, I ultimately chose independent release, understanding that publishing decisions are driven by market fit as much as the writing itself.

I out performed and outlasted every Japanese competitor from independents to ones associated with media outlets.

A decade-long body of published of obsessive research and analysis.

I founded Oishii-desu.com in 2016.

Independently owned and operated.

Hundreds of original articles.

Focused on Japanese food, culture, brands, and consumer issues.

Still actively publishing after a decade.

Graphic Design:
Packaging, print ads, iconography/visual identity, basic infographics, and events.
Web Development:
HTML, CSS, to PHP/SQL (PHPBB, vbulletin, to eCommerce platforms), via Wordpad to WYSIWYG (Dreamweaver) and WordPress.
Photography:
Product photography and post (photoshop/lightroom).
Digital Marketing:
SEO, SEM, FB/IG ads, email, and social media: IG and Facebook.
Model Making to Carpentry:
Spent a summer fabricating Japanese shoji screens to industrial design courses in model making and furniture design.
Food/BOH:
Italian, Mexican, and Southern (love soul food), and specialization of Japanese cuisine.
Mechanic:
A focus on Japanese automotive imports from tuning, diagnostics, and specialized knowledge in engine and suspension tuning to safety equipment and brakes.