Host (00:05)
Yep. Very smart. I love that. Okay so Luna, tell me about, let's start from the beginning. So where were you born and raised?

Luna (00:15)
I was born in Japan and ⁓ I was raised in Japan ⁓ until I was 16.

Host (00:23)
what propelled you to leave Japan?

Luna (00:26)
I always knew I was going to study abroad. ⁓ That's been my dream since I was little. Actually, when I was about three or four, my parents put me in a little kids club. It's called ACC Junior. I don't know if it's worldwide or if it's just in Japan.

so I had opportunity to learn ⁓ English from a very young age.

I just wanted to ⁓ leave Japan and explore another world.

was quite ⁓ free-spirited and adventurous. Yeah, and I think I was influenced a lot by my grandmother. She practically raised me. I grew up with my parents too, but I spent a lot of time with my grandmother and myself, I consider as an old soul too. we were just best friends and she traveled a lot. ⁓

Host (01:02)
Yeah.

and and hear her stories and stuff.

Luna (01:26)
I heard all the stories of her adventures and she would bring back some souvenirs and there are some special stories attached to each ⁓ one of them I keep all those souvenirs in a little box those were my treasures and yeah that kind of inspired me to see the world.

Host (01:46)
What

a beautiful childhood memory that is. So where was the first place you went to after you left Japan at 16?

Luna (01:55)
⁓ Tucson, Arizona.

Host (01:57)
Tucson,

Luna (01:59)
So I signed up for this foreign exchange student program and I found this poster on the wall by chance. at school? No, it was at the kind of like a cultural exchange center, information center. And I found this poster on the Britain board and I kind of decided on the spot that I'm going.

Host (02:10)
cool. ⁓

And did you, so what year was that approximately?

Luna (02:31)
That was back in 2000... 2000, okay.

Host (02:37)
Could you research a lot about Tucson, Arizona before you went?

Luna (02:41)
No, actually,

so when you sign up for these foreign exchange student program, they don't really tell you where you're going until you are already registered. Could be anywhere. ⁓ wow. So on the poster, ⁓ when I found the poster, was pretty close to the deadline for registering or applying. And we applied right away. it's

Host (02:52)
It could be anywhere.

Luna (03:08)
took several weeks to find out if I got in. We had a weeks of language training in California. And during that time I wasn't sure where I was going for the rest of the...

Host (03:21)
year. Did you say in California? Yes. California.

Luna (03:24)
So

we, I guess we went to California for a weeks, just to settle down and, you know, attend ESL, English as Second Language courses before ⁓ you get sent to host family in different states. Yep. And yeah, I found out about three days before I was supposed to fly where I was going. Yeah.

Host (03:51)
is an adventure. Yeah.

Luna (03:54)
And it came in. So brave. it just, you know, like an invitation came in a little envelope and said Tucson, Arizona. Where is it? I've never heard of Arizona before. And at that time, you know, we didn't have I don't think we had Wi-Fi. And I couldn't my phone was not connected to Internet and I couldn't even look up the picture of Arizona. And yeah, we I just got on the flight.

Host (04:23)
And

then did your host family meet you when you got off the plane? Were they like holding up a little sign with your name? So classic, that's so cool. And was this one of those exchange programs because you had finished high school in Japan?

Luna (04:26)
Yes, they've... Yeah. Yeah, it's quite an experience.

No,

I didn't finish high school in Japan. was 16 turning 17. So I was in junior, like starting a junior in Japan. And I was placed in the senior year.

Host (04:47)
here.

Yeah, so you're finishing school in Tucson, Arizona.

Luna (04:54)
Correct.

Yeah. I graduated from American high school. ended up graduating.

Host (05:00)
many years were you in Tucson then? one year. And what was that? ⁓ did your host family have other children? What was that like to be immersed in this entirely new culture all of sudden in somebody else's home?

Luna (05:03)
Just one ear.

Well, they did.

Yeah, was quite a ⁓ culture shock ⁓ in a good way. But at that age, I think you're flexible enough, you're open-minded enough to adapt into the new environment. And I really enjoyed every moment of it.

Host (05:34)
Was your grandmother still alive? Like were you able to phone back to her and share your...

Luna (05:40)
At that

time she was. But we were encouraged not to ⁓ call home often. ⁓ It was kind of the program rule at the time.

Host (05:51)
Maybe was at time maybe help with homesickness or something or okay. Can you imagine that in this day and age with our wi-fi and our facetime? Yeah you couldn't you probably couldn't enforce that now. Okay so after Tucson Arizona where did you go?

Luna (06:07)
I went back home for a year to ⁓ work full jobs to save up the fund for starting college.

Host (06:17)
and what what jobs did you when you were grinding it out?

Luna (06:20)
I was working in a sushi restaurant, telephone operator. I worked in golf course and I also worked at the convention as a banquet server while finishing up the high school in Japan too. I was...

Host (06:35)
Okay, wow.

You're very busy. ⁓

And so you did that for a year before you went to college?

Luna (06:45)
Yes, ⁓ I went back to the United States to start my college years.

Host (06:50)
And did you go back to Tucson or somewhere different? Las Vegas. ⁓

Luna (06:54)
Really?

Yes, I had a very interesting life.

Host (06:59)
what you would that have been?

Luna (07:01)
2003 or 2004. ⁓

Host (07:04)
Okay.

And then how many years did you spend in Vegas? And what did you take?

Luna (07:09)
About seven to eight years. ⁓

Hotel management. Travel and tourism with the emphasis on event management for the first two years at the community college and then I worked another year in a casino and then I continued on my education hotel management for the latter two years.

Host (07:34)
Wow. And then so you graduate and then where did life take you?

Luna (07:39)
to Middle East. I worked another year in another Las Vegas resort. Okay, yeah. And then after that, ⁓ my visa was expiring. So I was searching for another job and I applied for Middle Eastern Airlines.

Host (07:41)
The Middle East.

Right, you were saying you were first-class flight attendant? Is that correct?

Luna (08:02)
It's been my dream to work for an airline since I was young. You know, that kind of aligns with my wish to travel the world. I did my research and I decided that I wanted to work for Middle Eastern Airlines. I applied for two, Qatar and Emirates. I flew across the country to go to their interviews.

Host (08:20)
Okay.

Luna (08:25)
They conduct interviews several times a year.

Host (08:29)
amazing. And so you must have had some pretty amazing layovers. Tell me more about all these countries

Luna (08:37)
I think in the course of five years, I probably traveled to about 70 countries. Some for my job and some I backpacked. I'm an avid hiker, so ⁓ when I'm not working, I'm usually hiking somewhere. Wow. yeah, lots of great layovers.

At that time we had over 140 destinations around the world. as you earn seniority, you can request more flights.

Host (09:07)
do you have any highlights any that stick out in your mind of just wow that was that place was great

Luna (09:13)
⁓ so many.

I really liked Maldives. Maldives?

Host (09:18)
and for what particular reason.

Luna (09:21)
It's the scenery is just out of the world. The water is so clear there. The water is so clear to the point that you don't even see, you don't even feel that the water is there. So all the fish look like they're just floating in the air. It's the clarity of the water is just amazing.

Host (09:39)
That's an amazing image. Yeah. That's pretty cool. You must have filled up your passport pretty quickly, Was it just a constant struggle to renew you get more pages in your passport?

Luna (09:46)
I did, yeah.

I have

added ⁓ more pages. I never thought that I had to, but ⁓ yes.

Host (09:59)
Yeah, there's always that random country that takes an entire page as well for their little visitor visa. It takes up an entire page for your passport. can't you just stamp a little stamp in it? Yeah.

Luna (10:10)
So after working for five years for the airline, I moved to Canada, Ontario.

Host (10:17)
So you've seen the world at this point. So why Canada?

Luna (10:20)
I moved around quite a bit.

I got engaged. okay. And then I resigned from my job and I moved here and I had two children I've been a homemaker for the last 10 years, the first 10 years of life in Canada. I've here for almost, yeah, it's about, I've been here for 10 years almost in. Yes.

Host (10:50)
Gone by quick.

Yeah. you came to Kelowna because.

Luna (10:55)
⁓

I needed a change of scenery

Ontario was really cold. I moved from desert to desert all my life. Sonora Desert, Arizona to Mojave, Nevada to Arabian Desert. And all of sudden I was in Ontario in minus 25 Celsius weather. And it was difficult for me to get adjusted to the new...

Host (11:02)
I've heard.

Luna (11:26)
environment at that point. And I just miss the sunshine and also this dry climate that Okanagan offers. And I always miss the West Coast in general. I spent quite a bit of time ⁓ in the southwest, west side of the North America, right? Yeah. So it's just different vibe, east side and the west side. I just

Host (11:36)
Yeah.

Luna (11:55)
missed all the sunshine and dryness.

Host (11:58)
Yeah and Kelowna offers you a lot of hiking, very close hiking trails. Yes. Yeah when did you get the original idea that you wanted to open up your own business?

Luna (12:13)
I always kind of wanted to, but I was busy traveling for the first, you in my 20s. with all that traveling experience and my hospitality background and hospitality, I thought I could do something in the future that was kind of in the horizon when I turned 30. And I kind of slowly...

started planning and but I kind of I I did solidify my idea a couple of years ago that I was going to open up some type of food business but at that point I wasn't sure that it was going to be a cafe.

Host (12:57)
Yeah. at what point did you decide on it being a cafe?

Luna (13:02)
It kind of just came together in a natural way.

I have passion for volunteer work. I was helping out different cultural communities Corona offers a lot of multicultural events for the size of the town. And I had opportunity to help out several different NPO's in town ⁓ to create multicultural events and

Asian Heritage Month being one of the biggest ones that happens in month of May. we did some art and craft activities at the Kelowna Art Gallery and food booths and other cultural performances. And when...

I started spending a lot of time with these community members. I realized that Corona lacks the platform for

to run these programs or practices for cultural dance or language programs, all sorts of things. It's expensive to rent space or find space. And I thought I could do something about that. So my original plan was to have a gathering space or space that anyone can use.

Host (14:12)
Yeah.

Luna (14:29)
for their passion project.

but the space needed to be sustainable. And

my visions about having the community space and also a business that preferably related to ⁓ my culture so I can introduce my culture to the colonial community. And it kind of all came together in a current form.

Yeah, a cafe with the rental space. ⁓ So during the cafe hours, it's a Japanese cafe, right? And after the cafe hours, we run different programs. sometimes I collaborate with local small business owners who are in need of renting a space. next month, we're running yoga sessions and

We had a tea ceremony with the Kasugai Sister City Association, that's a local NPO. They work to strengthen the friendship between the sister city, Kasugai, and the of Kirona. I suppose that my dream is coming to reality in a way.

Host (15:48)
yeah side note i think the cask guy gardens are one of the most beautiful hidden gems of the city i remember as a little tiny kid walking through those gardens and just being at awe at everything and of course the big the big fish you know yeah as we fries a little yeah yeah they're pretty they're beautiful but

you have this idea for your business and what was the process you went through trying to find a space

Luna (16:16)
It was difficult. I looked at at least 10 different locations, but nothing clicked until I saw this one. When I walked into the space, I just felt that this is it. So our cafe is located on Carlston Avenue and it's a quiet street ⁓ in a residential area.

really close to downtown, but it's peaceful.

Host (16:43)
Yeah, and it's right on the active corridor. So you get a lot of, oh, that's how my husband and I first saw your business because we kept walking by it to get to the Rocket games and we were seeing it like as you're, it wasn't open yet, but you could tell something was going in there and we didn't, we were like, oh, what's going in this little place? And we peek in the window and over the weeks you're like, oh, this is going to be something. And then all of a sudden, one day we realized that it was going to be a

Luna (17:02)
Let's go.

Host (17:11)
little cafe and we're like, this is epic and we were so excited when you opened your place has such a Wonderful feeling when you walk into it it feels very like

Luna (17:26)
uplifting

vibe, A lot of people tell me about that. I can see ⁓ in their facial expression when people just walk right in, their face light up.

Host (17:39)
look around, you know what it feels warm. It's warm and inviting and perhaps that's all the plants you have. the vibe they give off and yeah you've done a really good job. It's obviously a reflection of you and your personality and all that is what you've put into it.

Luna (17:55)
Bye.

Host (18:00)
I had the most, ⁓ can't remember the name of it, but I had the most unique and amazing tea there the very first time I visited you. You probably don't remember this, you showed me the menu and I just said, make, what did I say? was like, me something. I wanted to try something that was unique.

what drink represents you and your culture and your cafe and you had made me something it was smoked tea leaves like green tea leaves or something yeah ⁓ my i'd never tasted something like it was a it was a new flavor for me and it was so subtle and different and delicious

Luna (18:30)
so that's hojicha.

Host (18:44)
for any for anybody who's been in your cafe when you make your drinks it is a beautiful thing to watch because you are taking such care

and love into every drink that you prepare and you weigh out the tea leaves and you everything is so precise. A, how did you learn all that? Did you come to the cafe already knowing this or did you have to research how to make these drinks in such a specific manner?

Luna (19:15)
I've done my own research, but I've been trained from my tea guru. ⁓ No, so we get our teas from ⁓ a company called Jagasilk. And Jabot is the owner of the company. He actually grew up here. He was, I believe he was born and raised in Corona, but he opened up, started the tea making business.

Host (19:22)
Is that the one in Kelowna? Add it.

Luna (19:42)
in Victoria Island. And ⁓ he's so passionate about his product. we connected when I was searching for the best suppliers and I was searching for teas from my home province and it was kind of difficult to find because most matcha

comes from Kyoto Ujiwara, Kyoto region. That's the mainland Japan. And I'm from Fukuoka, Japan. That's the southern, it's southern island, Kyushu. And it's the tea farms, tea plantations there is much smaller than the Kyoto region. when I was looking for tea that are made in my province, this

Jagasjog popped up and I reached out to him and he called me personally from his phone and we chatted and I thought this is it. And he provided me with intensive training course via Zoom. He doesn't let anyone carry his product or

serve his product until they complete this online training. So he just wants to make sure that his product is presented in ⁓ the most, you know.

Host (21:13)
Yeah that his he's being represented to the standard right that it should be so that brings out the best of it.

Luna (21:22)
That's right.

And growing up in Japan, we all grew up drinking tea. Tea is something that comes with a lot of memory, Drinking tea with my grandmother, drinking tea with friends. ⁓ The coffee culture is becoming popular in Japan, but tea is

deeply embedded in our Japanese culture.

Why I open the tea house? It's actually not the tea house. We have coffee beans too. It's just a lot of people refer to us as tea shop or tea house, but we do actually carry great coffee beans, which is provided by Craft 42. don't know if you... Yes, they are wonderful people and they also care so much about their product.

Host (22:03)
Yeah.

Yes, Erin and Taylor.

Luna (22:26)
So, know, tea grew, I have tea grew and coffee grew and they...

Host (22:31)
How did you find? How did you find? That's 42.

Luna (22:35)
I was their customer and Aaron doesn't really let everyone carry his beans either. He cares about, he wants to make sure that his product is properly represented as well. And it's not just his coffee beans. All his cups are biodegradable. He cares about the sustainability and ethical work environment for coffee.

the older workers that are involved in the process of making the beans. he once told me that about 95 % of the beans in the world would not meet what he's looking for in terms of quality and yes, ethically sourced.

Host (23:18)
Wow.

ethically sourced.

Even his chocolate, his little chocolate that he has there, which is absolutely incredible. same thing. His passion when he talks about his club. You can just sit there

it's not that time stops but you get taken away into his passion and when he goes off about his pains it's the outside world has stopped and you're just embraced in this individual's passion and love and you're like wow this is something to

I just love listening to them talk about coffee. I personally, I love coffee, but not to that extent, but what in my life do I love to that extent besides my children and my husband? But even my love for them, I'm not going to go off and speak so passionately about, And so it's refreshing. It's so refreshing to hear somebody just love their job and everything. Yeah. So you're a guest of

Craft 42, you hear Aaron about his beans and then you end up getting your coffee beans from Aaron and Taylor.

Luna (24:29)
I

pretty much bugged him to the point that he said, all right, I'll carry my beams.

Host (24:36)
I love it. It's good local feel too. where did your name come from for your business?

Luna (24:36)
You

⁓ comore.

sometimes in Japanese language, ⁓ one word or one phrase can mean so much. Komorebi in a shorter explanation means ⁓ sunlight streaming through the tree canopy.

like a sense of tranquility and peace attached to this word.

Host (25:06)
Yeah, like the feeling you kind of get when you walk into your store, right? Right. Yeah.

Luna (25:12)
It also has a double meaning too about missing someone who is far away and can't meet. So that kind of... That also spoke to me because I've been everywhere. I've never had root in one place and I traveled from one place to another and I built...

community or relationship and then I moved to another place and I was constantly missing someone. That's been my life. so yeah, it has like a hidden meaning to it as well.

Host (25:53)
Yeah, beautiful

thing. Did you know right away that that was what you wanted to name it or did you go through a list of different names?

Luna (26:03)
No, not really. everything, like a lot of big life decisions, I kind of made them with intuitively and some things just come to me naturally and one day, just out of the blue. I liked the term, I knew the word. But one day, it just came to me and I decided.

Well, I'm going to name this cafe Komorebi. Yeah. And I love hiking too, right? it's just being in the nature, ⁓ being under the tree canopy, like feeling that sunlight, that sense of peace. I felt like the space that I was creating resonated with the term.

Host (26:51)
like your vision, the vision for your space. Have you been up to Knox recently with all the arrow leaf flowers out? So you got to go like in the next few days because they're all dying once a year they all bloom. It's a yellow, yellow paradise.

Luna (26:58)
No, not yet.

so they have lovely smell.

But not the Okinagan sunflowers, though,

Host (27:12)
Yeah, they're called arrow- I believe they're called arrowleaf flowers. I could be saying that. No, I swear they're called arrowleaf.

Luna (27:19)
Right, right, I just didn't know what it ⁓

Host (27:22)
Aeroleaf

balsam root.

You hear a ball sound a lot, the school down by you, It's all based off of that.

Luna (27:29)
The Kalamore Provincial Park is full of ⁓ Okinawan sunflowers too.

Host (27:36)
Do you have a favorite trail around town that you go to?

Luna (27:40)
Well, I like Knox Mountain. And I like the trail in Kalamauka Lake. Yes.

Host (27:41)
Yeah.

area. by Vernon? Yes.

Have you been have you done the Lockview Trail at Knox Mountain?

Luna (27:55)
⁓ no, I don't think so.

Host (27:58)
You

can like, it goes, you know when you get to Pulse

If you just keep going north, it takes you along the bluff, all the way up It's absolutely stunningly beautiful.

Luna (28:09)
I

might have done that. It's just like when I just don't pay attention. I just...

Host (28:14)
Because

it shows you all the way down the lake on the other side, and it opens up. it's just this panorama view of the lake, south to north. And it's quiet. Not many people go on that path, probably because it doesn't loop around. So you got to go out and then back in again. But yeah, there's so many amazing.

Ike's in this area and spring is the best time because everything's green and you're not although you might like summer with your love for the desert

Luna (28:51)
I love the heat. You like the a hairdryer. I love it.

Host (28:53)
my goodness. I

just, I'm not a fan. And ironically, I'm always cold. I always have cold feet. Right now they're frozen. Always have cold feet. Yet I don't like the summer. Weird.

Luna (29:07)
Oh, so maybe

you should move to Ontario. But it was really, I was frozen for the last two, 10 years. Spring or fall.

Host (29:13)
moved onto it.

You know, about

to say, so I went like growing up in Kelowna, it's all I knew, right? And then I went to university in Calgary in Alberta and my last year,

And was a bit of an active town. They had all these beautiful pathways that you could rollerblade or bike ride or run along the river and stuff like that. And I thought my last year, this my last year in Calgary, I really need to experience a summer here. This will be great. And then, there wasn't a summer. There wasn't a single night that entire summer where you could sit outside without a sweater on.

because it just got so cold that night. then there wasn't really a spring and there wasn't really a fall. It was just like winter and then a little, I don't know what you call it. And then you were straight back into winter. And I thought, what the heck? Then you come back home and we actually have, we have four distinct seasons. It's hot, brown summer, this beautiful fall with all the foliage and the trees falling. And then winter.

And even though we don't get a lot of snow you can still go to the Alameda, go to Telemark, Big White, you know, wherever. And then we have the most beautiful spring. And I'm thinking, okay, this is why so many people like to live in Kelowna. It actually is. Stunningly beautiful, four seasons, it's not too big. ⁓

Luna (30:31)
to the map.

You just don't know how lucky you are until you visit other parts of the country.

Host (30:57)
Yeah, and then you

come back and your eyes are open. You're like, okay, I can appreciate this a lot more. But you need to do your little walkabout and you know, gotta go see life to come back. yeah. what's your future plans for your store?

Luna (31:17)
well, actually, ⁓ what you just mentioned about you have to kind of see the other place to appreciate where you started from. Yeah. that resonate with me because myself, my life is kind of the same way. I left Japan, right? I traveled the world to actually had like a newly found.

appreciation for my own culture. I just realized that, like how beautiful that my culture is and the country is. And I just want to share that with the Kelowna communities. Yeah.

Host (31:54)
Yeah. Are

there certain aspects that stand out for you that you miss or yearn for or developed a greater respect for since being away?

Luna (32:04)
the Japanese art forms,

The Japanese art forms have...

I guess I would call it quiet art. There's element of mindfulness and just the practice itself, whether it's kado, that's Japanese flower arrangement, or sadō, the way of tea, or suminagashi is another form of art, Japanese

water art. those things, is a bit new concept to the Western culture because it contains a lot of element of mindfulness and being in the present moment. It's almost like a ritual that brings you back to who you are and

the activity, provides you with the opportunity to reflect on your life. that's something that I think I've been away from. And I have the new appreciation for those type of art.

Host (33:07)
Do you have plans to go back soon?

Luna (33:10)
To Japan? I usually go back every year, once a year, but I haven't been able to because of the startup of the business. But I actually, I would love to spend more time in my country. I want to travel and I want to learn about different art forms. So I would be able to run maybe some workshops in the future. Yes.

Host (33:37)
What time of year do you prefer to go back?

Luna (33:41)
I think spring, I love springtime when cherry blossoms are blooming. It's really hard to catch though. There's short.

Host (33:49)
So short. ⁓

anything else you have on your mind or want to talk about today?

Luna (33:57)
Why I opened a tea shop. Yeah. Back to that, I guess. I grew up in a small town in the countryside and I felt really connected to the nature growing up. there was

Host (34:02)
Yeah, go for it.

Luna (34:10)
It's going to be a long story maybe.

Host (34:12)
Go

for it. We got time. Yeah.

Luna (34:16)
I was a wild child and I went to a kindergarten that encouraged children to walk in barefoot. So it was barefoot kindergarten. then I went to elementary school that was close to the mountain and two kilometers away from my home. myself, seven year old.

walked every morning for two kilometers to walk to the school near the mountain. And, you know, I watched the seasons go by. When you walk for two kilometers, you really get to observe all the surroundings and all the flowers, starting from canola, the yellow flowers in March to cherry blossom and

close to my elementary school by the mountain, in that mountain there was a little tea shop.

And to get there, you have to walk through, or you could drive up and cheat, or you could walk through this small path or alley through the woods. it was called ⁓ Whispering Alley. my best friends and myself would walk through that path up the mountain to go to that tea shop. And

have a cup of matcha there with some Japanese confectioneries and that was one of my happiest memories. It was, you know...

was so peaceful in the tea shop to spend time with my favorite people having a good cup of...

Host (35:48)
T.

Luna (35:49)
I would call that a happy day, like the perfect day. And you know, if someone asked me, what is your perfect day, it would still be the same, just spending time with my favorite people, having a cup of tea or coffee.

You know, I don't just sell a cup of tea or coffee. I want to offer an experience, a moment of peace.

an opportunity to kind of pause in our busy life. You know, we are located in the urban area of Kelowna, right? I strive to be the urban Zen space, just to have that little pause, little time to breathe. my friends ask me,

Are you ever going to do Uber pickup? And I don't even know how those things work. I've never done it before. I mean, it's great option, especially when we went through COVID, right? ⁓

I appreciate that we adapted and these options are great. for my cafe, I really wish people to come in and if possible sit down rather than just grab and go.

I want ⁓ our cafe to be kind of like a neighborhood cafe where people come to catch up with their loved ones or sit by themselves and have a moment of reflection or time to do some reading.

⁓

I think Kirona needed a space like that more.

Host (37:43)
Yeah, that's beautiful. That was beautifully rooted. The next time I come, I'm going to sit down. Yeah, I should. should. And you're right. It doesn't take long to sit down and have a moment.

Luna (37:50)
Please do. Please do.

You know when I'm taking orders on the POS, it took me a while to work that POS, but when I'm taking orders on the POS and I always ask, is it for here or to go? And I laugh when they say, for here. I'm like, yes.

Host (38:19)
Stay! Yeah. That's good to hear.

Luna (38:24)
I found myself being a single mom with two young children in tow and I was going back and forth, the city hall to get all these permit construction permit and business licenses and

Host (38:39)
That's a whole thing in itself to figure out, Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Luna (38:41)
It was a long journey to open this cafe.

Host (38:47)
there's such a difference in having an idea and wanting to do something and then actually doing it. actually being no, I'm going to take this risk. It's a huge risk. I don't know if this is going to be successful or not. I'm just going to dive right in there and do it.

people who actually do it, you know, I have such respect for. it's incredible and the amount of learning and things you get to figure out and people you get to meet and your whole journey and process is so unique to you. it's admirable. It's amazing.

Luna (39:30)
When you reach a certain point, there's no going back. So you just have to go all the way in. You know, you're committed to the space. You know, like, how is it? You're there's no going back now.

Host (39:40)
It's not to have second thoughts, does it? Because you're invested, you're all in.

Luna (39:47)
But all these helping hands, they just appeared. And I really appreciate all the support that I received from the community and group of friends. yeah, that's one thing too, The cafe, we strive to strengthen or foster the connection to...

oneself and to the community I really believe that we're all one, right? We're all one humanity and

When I was going through a difficult time, a lot of people have helped me.

this sense of connection that I had ⁓ helped me keep going and moving forward.

I wanted to...

you know, I thought about what I can do for the community, I think...

This is my way of.

giving back.

Host (40:51)
Yeah, that's a beautiful thing.

Luna (40:55)
I loved the concept. I think what I'm trying to do and what you're trying to do kind of...

Host (41:03)
Same, same but different. Yours is more, yours is like tangible and real because you're physically in the sense of place. You can reach more people.

hopefully together it becomes more complete. Right? So they're either gonna know your place and then hear your story, feel more connected, or they might listen to the podcast, feel more connected, and then go see your place and then complete that connection to even a greater degree. So they might kind of work off

Luna (41:19)
Thank

Host (41:38)
You wanted to expand upon why you left Japan?

Luna (41:41)
I did mention that, yes, heartbreak, part truth. And I did mention about the poster that I saw at the international information center.

I used to go there a lot as a student to find opportunities for volunteer work or language exchange opportunities. And I saw this poster and the thing is that I still have that poster after 25 years. I kept it.

⁓ And the poster was about the foreign exchange student program. When I found the poster, it was close to the deadline for the application and I applied. I decided on the spot that I wanted to ⁓ go. so that poster,

had so much impact on my life. my life? my life. Sorry, my English.

Host (42:44)
Well, I think it's interchangeable in your life. either one works.

Luna (42:50)
the poster was a picture of New York's Times Square. But at that time I didn't know that it was a picture of the New York Times Square. just saw the picture and the scenery looked very urban and cosmopolitan, exciting. then in that picture there was

a with the arrow pointing with a caption that said, you.

Host (43:24)
I I it was a silhouette of a person.

Luna (43:27)
I thought to myself, that's going to be me. I asked the program organizer if I could keep the poster after the deadline passed, and I kept it. But it was buried in my belongings for maybe first seven, eight years. when my family...

moved from the house that I grew up in, they were downsizing and moving from the family home in the countryside to the city in a condominium. They called me and they told me that I had to go through my things and that's when I kind of rediscovered my poster. I thought, ⁓ there it is. And even then I didn't realize that it was...

the picture of the New York Times Square. ⁓ I just saw it and I remembered all the feelings of excitement and the picture had really beautiful blue sky and ⁓ yeah, it just brought back all the reason why

I wanted to take on this adventure in the first place. After I graduated from university, I flew across the country to go for the interview for Middle Eastern Airlines. And I was in New York. I was...

exploring the area. I might as well do sightseeing too, right? And then I was standing at the intersection in Times Square. And I felt really strange. Like, I knew he looks familiar. Like I've been here before. And

Host (45:00)
it.

This scene

Luna (45:09)
At that time I didn't realize what that strange feeling was about. After the interview I flew back home to Las Vegas and I looked at the poster that I brought back from home in Japan and that's when I realized that I was standing in the same spot. Yeah, I realized that I was this wet.

Host (45:32)
You wear the silhouette.

Luna (45:37)
And it was one of those moments for me that my dream really came true and I felt like everything was connected. It all made sense.

Host (45:53)
Out of everywhere in the world, those interviews could have taken place. They in New York and you were at that spot. That's wild. And so you framed it. ⁓

Luna (46:04)
I did.

The first seven, eight years when I brought back from Las Vegas, know, it was just rolled up and it was still buried in my stuff in my college room. yeah, after that, I frame it. I had to frame it.

Host (46:23)
What a cool story.

Luna (46:24)
I didn't really think about opening a tea shop or a coffee shop or cafe. I wanted to create a space

The space was originally meant for one bedroom condo and they turned the space into a commercial space. So it was a really small space and

before I committed to opening this cafe, many have told me that the space is too small

Host (46:55)
They converted it to commercial before you bought it.

Luna (46:59)
⁓ it was transitioning.

Yeah, so it was really small for commercial space and I did in the beginning I did receive some discouraging comments about ⁓ the location being too small to open a cafe. But I know you know I'm from Japan.

Host (47:19)
Are

these comments from the city or?

Luna (47:22)
I know from other business owners, ⁓ friends and my good friends, know, because they want me to succeed, And sometimes their advice can be very protective. I always had, you know, creative mind and

When someone tells me I can't do something, then my next question would be, well, how can I do it? How can I make it? Interchangeable.

Host (47:49)
Creative or stubborn. Yeah. ⁓

It

is too right? Because if you're creative you can make it happen. And you had made a slight comment there about because you're from Japan, did you mean that small spaces are more common in Japan?

Luna (48:08)
yeah, well, our country, I wouldn't say overpopulated because I never felt uncomfortable surrounded by people, our country, Japan has a high population, right? And last time I checked it,

the country carries about one fourth of the population of the United States in the size of California. don't know if it's still like that, but last time I checked. we learned to work with small space and I'm used to seeing small businesses making it work. And also

Host (48:32)
⁓

Yeah.

Yeah.

Luna (48:52)
a lot of ⁓ cafes in Vancouver, small businesses in Vancouver, they're pretty tiny. It's just, in Okinawa, you don't come across small, small cafe. But I knew I can make it work somehow. So I don't know if you've seen, ⁓ if you've

Host (49:06)
Yeah.

Luna (49:13)
if you've seen our funnagers but most of our funnagers are shrinkable or retractable? Yes. They're either foldable or shrinkable like a transformer table.

Host (49:21)
Your furniture? Oh, in the cafe?

Yeah, I did not notice. Yep.

Like I've sat in your chairs, but I notice that the...

Luna (49:36)
Yes, so, you know, the natural, like a live edge counter by the window, they fold down. Okay. Sometimes we do yoga sessions after the cafe hours. everything gets put away. And so the table shrinks down to about a foot in width. And the panels come off and

Most of my funitures have casters, wheels, so they can be rolled away and shelves fold down. my cafe is kind of like a transformer cafe.

Host (50:12)
Yeah, you can really utilize the space in multiple ways.

Luna (50:15)
So I wanted to create versatile or creative space to run multiple projects, passion projects. Tea shop is just part of my bigger project. So I am running

Basically three things out of the same location. One is the Komorebi Cafe, ⁓ the tea shop or coffee shop. And ⁓ I'm also running sort of like a rental space or running a creative space. So I rent out the space after the cafe hours to local yoga teachers or counselors for yoga sessions, Pilates, meditation circle, you know.

Host (50:40)
Yeah.

Luna (51:02)
The possibility is endless. We can do a lot of things with the space because the studio can completely clear and we can put yoga mats or those big round carpets. I also started a small NPO last summer. NPO.

Host (51:24)
A small what? small...

⁓ non-profit? Non-profit, yeah.

Luna (51:29)
So that would be my third project that's running out of the same location.

No, at all. I only did a lot of things. Yeah. It's since I've been quite preoccupied with the startup, the business where we haven't been too active, but originally, so I was organizing a language exchange program every Sunday for the last couple of years. And then we

kind of turned that into, not particularly that group, but we expanded. So last summer, along with my trusted friend, we started a small NPO and we're still doing the Kona Japanese language exchange every Sunday.

Host (52:17)
wow.

Luna (52:17)
I have other people who helps me organize the program.

I felt like there should be a platform to exchange information and bring different communities together or involve local individuals into the community. I just felt like there needs to

be like a bridge or middle person to connect communities with communities and individuals with communities.

Host (52:48)
Do you, can I interject and ask if a lot of that understanding how that works stems from your own experience with that cultural center in Japan? was that kind of a platform that connected people in that way?

Luna (53:04)
Yeah,

it all started from there really with the poster and the international or cultural center that I used to go to. And I was ⁓ also part of an international club or cultural club throughout my student years from elementary school to high school.

I was always in what is it called, a student council. And I have passion to bring people together.

Host (53:33)
Yeah, it sounds like you've, that's just a piece of your journey everywhere from Japan to Phoenix to Las Vegas. Did you have something when you worked for the airlines like that?

Luna (53:35)
just the core

Host (53:46)
or the job in itself was actually bringing people from everywhere to...

Luna (53:49)
⁓

And you know I backpacked everywhere I flew everywhere for my work too, but on my days off I was traveling I'm an avid hikers. I hiked all around the world and I met so many people From all walks of life all different cultural ethnic backgrounds and

All that encounters and the knowledge that I gained from the experience helped me and I guess I have better understanding.

Host (54:18)
Do think it's also, now that you're in Kelowna and you have a place and you have children now and you're setting roots down here, that you're not able to live that adventurous life in the same way as always moving around and seeing new things. And it's a way for you to nurture those connections here in a localized place.

and kind of fill that... I don't know if it's a void, it might be a void of your...

Luna (54:50)
Yeah, I guess I wouldn't call that a void. It's more like... How should I...

Host (54:56)
So it doesn't become a void?

Like that piece of you?

Luna (55:01)
I guess, you know, rather than me going out there and because I think in a way I'm done with that stage. Like I had enough exploring. Now I want to be the host. ⁓ I see. So it's not,

I guess being part of the world or feeling that connections with people from all over the place. But at the same time now, I think I have the better understanding and the capacity to accommodate others. Or others develop that connection, whether it's an individual

Host (55:34)
Gotcha.

Luna (55:45)
to other communities or also someone who, like myself, I left Japan when I was really young, right? And I've been...

kind of away from my culture for the first couple of decades, exploring and...

Have you ever heard of the book Alchemist?

I really love that book.

has several major themes. The Alchemist, my whole life was kind of, the story of the Alchemist. The young man searched the world, or Earth, to kind of...

Host (56:15)
V-Alchemist? Hello, okay.

Luna (56:27)
find the purpose or meaning in life. he's looking for this treasure. But the treasure signifies, the meaning of life, I suppose. And ⁓ he travels around and then in the end he kind of finds out that

Host (56:30)
Yeah.

Luna (56:50)
all he was searching for was right... He finds the treasure right where he started the journey. the point of the story is that... Well, there are several points, but first of all, it's enjoy the process and embrace... It's not about the destination, but it's about the journey itself that is meaningful and...

a lot of answers that you're looking for, you can find answers within.

Where was I so?

Host (57:18)
You are talking about how your life of adventure, that chapter in your life, has been kind of, you feel it's complete and now this new next chapter is about you feeling the purpose of being able to be the host to these, to other people.

Luna (57:36)
Right.

I realized that Yes, I wanted to travel the world for adventures and see the world,

meet different people. ⁓ And also I was kind of searching for, just like in the book, was searching for purpose or meaning in life,

I think I was looking for connections or...

I don't think I'm explaining this at all.

Host (58:06)
Okay, no, I think you're kind of like figuring it out as you think about and as you talk about it. It's beautiful.

Luna (58:13)
⁓

I moved around a lot and, you know, I believe for the last several decades, I was kind of ruthless. I didn't put down root and I kind of kept exploring and searching and

I just realized that all the things that I was kind of looking for out there, I realized that I can create it. All this time, I realized that all that power was kind of within myself to create the community, create this sense of connections. I was exploring out there

Host (58:39)
Yeah.

Luna (58:56)
in search of connections and

Host (58:58)
It's like you kept going external. You're looking to the outside world to find something, to find this thing that you're searching for and then you've now realized that actually what you're searching for is within you and that you can create that yourself. You don't need to find it somewhere else. You can create that. Is that what you're? Yeah.

Luna (59:17)
Yes.

Thank you for putting it together. You know, like the tea shop that I mentioned earlier, the little tea shop that was ⁓ in the mountain. when you asked why tea shop, then that memory came up and it kept coming up throughout my life. That peaceful, ⁓ tranquil space up in the mountain. And sometimes ⁓ when I

hit the wall, when I feel maybe not lost but when I feel stuck, I kind of went back to that moment time to time. was, I guess maybe it's the memory that's associated with that little tea house. I went there for the last time with my best friends and

It was one of my happiest memories, a peaceful place, right? Resting place. And so now that memory is kind of in this timeless space. whenever I travel, I like going to cafe and tea shop and coffee shop, right?

maybe in search of that same kind of feeling, the peace, the connection, know, connection to myself or connection to my loved ones, those feeling attached to this specific memory. But I was searching for cafe, not the feeling. I don't know how to explain it better, but then

I realize that I can create that space. I don't have to go back to that tea shop or look for, you know, tea shop, coffee shop elsewhere in the world. I can create the space here. same was the community. there are people that I miss all over the place. I moved a lot, but I can create communities here.

I believe the whole point is that I realized that all the power was within myself to all the things that I was searching for out there. I have ability to create that on my own.

Host (1:01:21)
Yeah.

Luna (1:01:22)
So back to I wanted to create the space. for people to gather and people to have that sense of connection to themselves or to the community.

that gives me sense of purpose. That I can create that space that foster those connections for others.

I do that through several different projects that's running out of the same space, whether it's the multicultural community, the NPO that I started, or the cafe, or the creative space project that happens after the cafe hours. But

They're all kind of aligned with what I'm trying to do is to foster those connections.

Host (1:02:07)
Yeah, they're they all kind of are just pieces that come together in unity in creating this vision and this purpose for that space. Those connections.

Luna (1:02:12)
Right.

I mentioned that a lot of good memories from ⁓ my life, all the good memories surrounding a cup of tea or coffee.

whether to catch up with my friends or spend quiet time by myself.

I think it comes down to the feeling or experience that's attached to the cup of tea. Towards the moment and time that you experience, whether with someone that you love or on your own, but that moment.

Host (1:02:52)
in that moment.

Yeah.

I feel like that moment's also it's all of your senses you have the smell, the smell of the tea, but also the smell of the shop. And like how that cup feels in your hand. then what you're looking at, like even if whether you're facing this way or that way.

your experience feels different whether you're facing outside or whether you're facing the inside and then that feeling and the energy of being with somebody you might really care and love and having the shared experience with them and then the sounds, it's all of your senses, it's everything and when they come together at just the right when everything's just right there's that moment

that feeling that you wish you could bottle up and replicate again and again and again. But when everything's just right and in harmony, it's kind of, it's elusive. And then you're chasing that feeling again, like the feeling you had at that mountain on the tea shop with your friends. I'm sure, I'm Yeah. it's just everything's in harmony and resonating and everything's, something is created in those moments when it

Luna (1:04:08)
I had a feeling that

Host (1:04:19)
it's just... i don't want to use the word perfect, but...

There's something in those perfect moments where you're just like, yeah.

Luna (1:04:26)
So creating the space that fosters that moment forever would be, for me, that feels like my purpose.

Host (1:04:31)
Yeah

It's ideal

look, yeah.

Luna (1:04:40)
also there's a word, Ikigai. I don't know if you've heard of it. There are books written about it. So that's registered in Oxford dictionary now, or whatever the dictionary is still out there.

Host (1:04:53)
Yeah, webs.

Luna (1:04:57)
So in short explanation, it means something reason for being or purpose of life. to me, fostering that such moment that you put it so beautifully, that would be my life's purpose or Ikigai, something that fills my cup.

Host (1:05:17)
Yeah.

Luna (1:05:18)
and

Host (1:05:19)
Is that what Icky Guy stands for? It's like cup filling or... purpose of being? ⁓ Okay. Gotcha.

Luna (1:05:23)
No, purpose of being. The reason that you get up every morning. Kind of thing.

We've been open for just a couple of months now and I've witnessed so many moments that others created.

I see customers reading a book of poetry quietly in the corner, students, familiar faces come and study for the finals. I saw group of ladies hugging each other in tears. all these...

things happening in the cafe.

It fills me when I witness that I created the space to

foster that connection for others. ⁓

Host (1:06:11)
there.

Luna (1:06:12)
those moments become memories for them. That elusive moment, unforgettable moments, that's something that gets me going,

Host (1:06:21)
Yeah.

Luna (1:06:21)
And

The last reason why I opened the tea shop or why I started the business was for my daughters.

I wanted them to witness that.

they can create anything. They watched me create this cafe from ground up.

they were involved in every step of the process.

they think it's their cafe too. It's the beauty of running small business is that children are part of that small business life.

Their opinion counts too. And they helped me water all the plants in the cafe. they named all the big plants that reside in our cafe. all the memories that we've created together are beautiful. I also want them to feel empowered watching their mother.

do many things and be many things. I consider myself a small entrepreneur, a mother.

A community leader. A friend. A neighbor.

many things.

It's been very challenging two years and from where I started.

my children really watched me grow and

was just not easy starting a small business as a single mother and jumping through all these hoops to... There are so many obstacles along the way, whether it's the size of the cafe or all the licenses and all the requirements.

And I really went back and forth in Terra House and City Hall.

The day I got the business license, I cried at the reception. the reception. hugged my children and I just cried. the receptionist, she saw me. Pretty much every other day, every day.

By the time I got my business license, I got to learn all the names of the receptionist and people who worked in the second floor of the city hall. because had so many questions and so many problems, small and big problems to be solved. yeah, at the end, everyone was so supportive. And the data...

that I got the business license, I cried. the receptionist, I forgot her name, sorry, but she cried with me. And she told me that, you know, she's glad that I finally, made it. and she said, you know, she said to me that like, looks like you've been doing this.

you know, ⁓ no. Like she she saw me coming with my girls and yeah. Yeah. So.

Host (1:08:56)
like tears of happiness, joy, relief.

Luna (1:09:01)
Mm-hmm.

Host (1:09:01)
Yes. Because I guess up until that moment you didn't know if it would be approved or not. So if all, if everything was for not, right? Did you sleep better that night? Yeah. Or was it game on? Well, congratulations.

Luna (1:09:17)
Thank

Host (1:09:17)
I think it's a beautiful thing your vision and what you're doing and the space you're offering the city. So thank you.

Yeah. And I appreciate your time. And I think it's a, will be a beautiful thing for people to know.

Luna (1:09:26)
Thank you.

Thank you for having me.

Host (1:09:36)
the story behind it all and who you are