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Our Vision
DN Tokyo aims to create a "home base" in Tokyo for digital nomads traveling the world and expats living away from their home countries. We want this to be a place where they can always feel connected, no matter where they are in the world.
Our goal is to offer a space that feels like a true sanctuary, even after they move on from Tokyo.
What we want to achieve
In the long term, we envision a community where members meet in Tokyo, form meaningful relationships, and continue to stay connected even after they leave. Ultimately, we want to create a physical space they can always return to.
To achieve this, we are focusing on building a high-trust, high-value community that digital nomads and expats visiting Tokyo will deeply want to be a part of. Specifically, we will hold WhatsApp Community-exclusive events to deepen relationships among members and organize Meetup events using platforms like Meetup.com and Nomadlist, where new participants can meet and connect with the community.
About me: Why I created DN Tokyo
My name is yusuke. I was born in New York and have lived in Tokyo, Hokkaido, Kyoto, New York, Osaka, Jakarta, and now back in Tokyo. I’ve always loved the feeling of restarting life in a new place right after moving. When I studied abroad in New York, the city of my birth, for a year in college, I was amazed by the diversity of values and backgrounds I encountered. At the same time, as someone who couldn’t speak English well back then, I also learned how difficult it is to live in a foreign land where you don’t understand the language.
Now, I work at an American tech company and find myself increasingly drawn to the digital nomad lifestyle as a long-term career choice. Just as I was captivated by the diversity of people and cultures during my time in New York, I’m inspired by the digital nomad lifestyle, which allows one to fully enjoy the richness of life in various places.
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In May 2024, I became a member of the Nomad List, an online platform for digital nomads, where I met several digital nomads and spoke to them directly. While they shared the excitement and appeal of the nomad lifestyle, they also spoke about its challenges—keeping a steady routine, adapting to local cultures, and dealing with complicated visa processes, housing searches, and securing reliable Wi-Fi.
But the most significant challenge, the one that often leads people to eventually stop being nomads, is the difficulty in building long-term relationships. While technology makes it easy to meet new people, those relationships often remain fleeting, and long-term connections are hard to maintain. This is a structural problem with the nomadic lifestyle itself.
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I deeply admire and respect those who choose the digital nomad lifestyle, taking risks—like leaving behind family, partners, and friends or making career changes—to live life on their own terms. However, it’s heartbreaking to think that people may abandon the nomad lifestyle too soon, feeling unfulfilled or disconnected. I fear that I too would face the same struggles if I became a digital nomad. That’s why I wanted to address this issue and create a community centered in Tokyo, a place where digital nomads can feel grounded while they stay, and a "home" they can always return to, even after leaving Tokyo.
I dream of eventually becoming a Digital Nomad myself, but the ideal Digital Nomad lifestyle I envision now is one where I travel back and forth between Tokyo and the rest of the world. Through this community, I imagine meeting people in Tokyo who I might later reconnect with during my travels (or perhaps even travel together!). I’m also excited about the possibility that people I meet on my journeys will become interested in this community and visit Tokyo because of it. This is what inspired me to create this community.
Tokyo's energy, endless potential
I also see incredible potential in Tokyo, the city I grew up in. With its diverse environment that welcomes people from many countries, the mix of cutting-edge modernity and ancient culture, its unparalleled safety (yes, even if you fall asleep on the street after a night of drinking, you’ll likely wake up unharmed!), cleanliness, and the gathering of world-class food cultures. There are also seasonal events like cherry blossom viewings, autumn foliage, and Christmas light displays—and now, Tokyo is surprisingly affordable. Tokyo is an ideal base for digital nomads from all over the world.
However, there are challenges in welcoming digital nomads to the city. The most significant one is the language barrier. Many Japanese people can’t speak English—or more accurately, they often can but are too shy or lack confidence, leading them to hesitate when communicating with foreigners (even though deep down, they’re eager to make friends!). There are also other challenges such as conservative regulations, confusing public transportation, and more. By helping each other as community members, we hope to overcome these barriers and use them as opportunities to strengthen our relationships.
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