Today I speak with Patricia Nakao Noel- a french woman living in Tokyo for 21 years +, married with 2 little girls and owner of Tabitabiya an online shop for Japanese items where she can share her passion for Traditional Japanese patterns. She says “I have always been very fond of them and it seems I just can’t get enough of them” when talking about the patterns. We talk about:
Making your best life in a country that is not necessarily your own and the transition from Japan being new and interesting, then hitting difficulties and the plateau that sometimes comes with living abroad.
Raising kids in a culture that is not your own (and how you can still learn stuff as well as teaching others)
How Patricia dreamed of escaping her small city to travel the world- she graduated with a degree in teaching french as a foreign language and that is how she came to Japan for the first time & how she deals with being away from France now.
How she found love in Japan (and the evolution of Japanese men) and how difficult it was to date in Japan originally (For both me & Patricia)
How she manages her time and how that lead to start of her business (She still teaches but has her online business too) which started with her love of Jika-tabi & love of Japanese patterns (and old kimonos)
Working with Japanese fabrics (making her own products)
How doing a little bit each day can lead to accomplishments and transformations down the line- there is no need to rush.
Biggest learning curves with starting an online shop in Japan and selling abroad and why taking help from others is important (community) and that she did not do it all on her own.
Dreams for Tabitabiya in the future
Find Patricia here
Website: https://www.tabitabiya.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tabitabi.ya/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shoptabitabiya/
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