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The Ikigai Podcast

The Ikigai Podcast

Nick Kemp - Ikigai Tribe 130 Episodes Aug 20, 2026

Nick Kemp from Ikigai Tribe explores the true Japanese meaning of ikigai and how to apply it to find purpose, joy, and meaning in daily life. Through interviews with professors, authors, and experts, as well as case studies of people living their ikigai, the podcast covers topics like rituals, morning routines, confidence, relationships, and starting a meaningful online business.

Episodes

Trust and Leadership: An Entrepreneur’s Journey in Japan with Timothy Connor
Trust and Leadership: An Entrepreneur’s Journey in Japan with Timothy Connor Aug 20, 2026 3456 Japan can look easy from the outside: huge buying power, world-class retail, and consumers who love quality. Then you try to sell there and discover the real barrier isn’t your product. It’s trust, context, and the unglamorous work most brands skip.We sit down with Timothy Connor, CEO of Synnovate, a bilingual and bicultural entrepreneur who has called Tokyo home for more than 30 years. Timothy sh
Beyond Engagement with Olesia Kyrylchuk
Beyond Engagement with Olesia Kyrylchuk Aug 3, 2026 3185 On this episode of the Ikigai Podcast, we talk with Olesia Kyrylchuk about what happens to purpose when life gets disrupted, from relocating to Japan after the war in Ukraine to rebuilding belonging through community and work. We connect the global engagement slide to a deeper meaning problem and lay out a practical path for HR leaders who want work to feel worth doing.• Olesia’s move to Japan, cu
Ikigai And Belonging
Ikigai And Belonging Jul 8, 2026 3123 One Japanese word can change your life. It did for us, and it’s how we met Kumiko Sugiyama, a Japanese language coach, business Japanese trainer, and ICF Associate Certified Coach who blends language learning with coaching, communication skills, and a deep love of Japanese culture.We talk through Kumiko’s real-world path across sales, parenting, startups, community work, and finally teaching Japan
Reflecting to Thrive with Chie Sawa
Reflecting to Thrive with Chie Sawa Apr 14, 2026 2363 On this episode of The Ikigai Podcast, I talk with Chie Sawa, founder of Thrive Life Design, about why all leaders need a sanctuary to pause and reconnect with themselves. We also explore reverse culture shock, the power of co-reflection, and how structured tools like Tarot readings for reflection can create clarity without crossing into therapy. We explore:• Chie’s journey from Japan to the US an
Reflections on A Year Of Ikigai with Nicholas Kemp
Reflections on A Year Of Ikigai with Nicholas Kemp Apr 6, 2026 2962 Caitlin Kight returns again to host the Ikigai Podcast to interview Nick on his new book, A Year of Ikigai. In this episode, Nick shares how Japanese voices, careful cultural research and daily prompts, helped him write a book that the reader can actually use. This epsidoe covers: • A 365-day reflective journey built around roles, relationships, rituals, contribution, and belonging  • How this boo
Unlocking Cross-Cultural Communication in Japan with Shohei Yoshida
Unlocking Cross-Cultural Communication in Japan with Shohei Yoshida Mar 30, 2026 2534
The Power of Awareness: How Kizuki Moments Transform Our Lives with Mae Yoshikawa
The Power of Awareness: How Kizuki Moments Transform Our Lives with Mae Yoshikawa Mar 10, 2026 3684 What if the feeling you’re most afraid of could become your clearest compass? Our conversation with Mae Yoshikawa begins in the hard places—parental divorce, a mother’s early-onset dementia, and the sudden death of a spouse—and unfolds into a practical path for turning pain into insight. Mae introduces Kizuki, the Japanese idea of an awakening moment of clarity, and shows how these flashes can be
Aligning Work with Purpose: A Conversation with Tina Bagwell
Aligning Work with Purpose: A Conversation with Tina Bagwell Mar 3, 2026 3132 What if the problem isn’t workload, but identity? We sit down with coach and HR leader Tina Bagwell to explore how many of us let a single role—the job—define who we are, and why that narrow frame leads to exhaustion, disengagement, and a loss of joy. Tina’s journey starts in Okinawa, where simple rituals, community, and omotenashi left a lasting imprint that later shaped her approach to leadershi
Expanding Your Inner Capacity: The Utsuwa Philosophy with Shigeki Nishimura
Expanding Your Inner Capacity: The Utsuwa Philosophy with Shigeki Nishimura Feb 24, 2026 3014 What if the key to better work and wiser leadership isn’t adding more tools but building a bigger vessel? Shigeki Nishimura—author, cross-cultural leadership coach, and former global executive—joins us to introduce Utsuwa, the Japanese concept of inner capacity. Drawing on two decades in Germany and a career bridging Japanese precision with European efficiency, Shigeki shows how a clay tea bowl ca
A Year of Ikigai
A Year of Ikigai Feb 17, 2026 647 Nick celebrates the launch of A Year of Ikigai and read the book’s introduction, separating myth from meaning and showing how purpose lives in daily moments. Nick shares why Ikigai is felt more than defined, and how small sources of value build a life worth living.This episode covers:• what ikigai means in simple, daily terms• why popular Western takes miss the point• the problem with the four-cir
Turning Pain Into a Gift: The Kintsugi Life of Kiki Fukai
Turning Pain Into a Gift: The Kintsugi Life of Kiki Fukai Feb 10, 2026 2708 A single fall changed everything. When our guest, life coach and digital nomad Kiki Fukai, crashed into a tree on a routine run, she shattered her skull and—unexpectedly—found a new way to live. What followed wasn’t a quick comeback story. It was a careful rebuild guided by kintsugi, the Japanese art of mending with gold, and a daily practice of acceptance that turned constant pain into a steady r
Anxiety as a Compass: Exploring Ikigai, Empathy, and Emotional Wellbeing with Catherine Deeks Gnocchi
Anxiety as a Compass: Exploring Ikigai, Empathy, and Emotional Wellbeing with Catherine Deeks Gnocchi Feb 3, 2026 2932 Anxiety isn’t a malfunction to be silenced; it’s a message asking to be heard. We sit down with therapist and educator Catherine Deeks Gnocchi to rethink fear through the lenses of evolution, mindfulness-based psychotherapy, and Japanese ikigai—revealing how anxiety can guide you back to your values and toward a life that actually fits.Catherine breaks down the nervous system in plain language: an

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