A friend who saved your life, dying of cancer. Slowly losing touch with your roots as an immigrant. Impassable cultural divides between lovers. Saving a life in the tsunami, and the reverberations of that. Love lost and lessons learned. A mother fleeing during wartime, and the impact of generational trauma. Masterful storytelling, heart-wrenching and sometimes funny.

What the hell was I doing, moderating a panel discussion with two mayors of Tokyo wards, a venerable journalist, and a rep from the Viennese embassy? And in tabi boots?