Contents
About WabiFinds
Hi, I’m the person behind WabiFinds
I live in Tokyo, where I work in advertising by day — which, funny enough, is exactly what taught me how much marketing noise there is out there, and how rare it is to find something written by someone who actually cares about getting the details right.
WabiFinds started from a pretty simple frustration: every time a friend or colleague visited Japan, they’d ask me the same kinds of questions. What sake should I bring home? What’s actually worth buying versus what’s just airport marketing? How do I pick a gift that doesn’t feel like a cliché souvenir? I’d answer in long, rambling messages, and eventually realized I should just write it all down properly — with the same care I’d put into helping a friend, not a generic “Top 10” list scraped together in an afternoon.
Why “Wabi”
The name comes from wabi (侘) — the idea, rooted in Japanese aesthetics, that there’s real beauty in the modest, the understated, and the imperfect. It’s the opposite of flashy. That’s exactly the kind of Japan I want to introduce to readers outside Japan: not just the neon and the tourist highlights, but the quieter things — a regional sake brewery, a family-run knife shop, a tradition most guidebooks skip over — that are honestly more interesting once you know what you’re looking at.
What I’m trying to do here
I want people outside Japan to experience more of Japanese culture than what shows up in a five-day tourist itinerary — and I want to make that easier to access, whether you’re planning a trip, choosing a gift, or just curious.
Every guide on this site follows the same approach:
- I research or try things myself before writing about them. If I haven’t tasted the sake, held the knife, or stayed in the ryokan, I say so clearly instead of pretending otherwise.
- I tell you who something is NOT for, not just who it’s for. A “best of” list that pretends everything is perfect for everyone isn’t actually useful.
- I update articles when things change — prices, availability, and my own opinions all shift over time, and stale information helps no one.
A little more about me
- Based in Tokyo, working in advertising/marketing
- Writing WabiFinds as an independent project outside of my day job — this site reflects my own opinions, not my employer’s
- Genuinely enjoy the process of digging into a niche (sake regions, craft tools, regional specialties) more than most people find reasonable
How WabiFinds makes money
This site includes affiliate links, meaning I may earn a small commission if you purchase something through a link here, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what I recommend — you can read the full breakdown on the Affiliate Disclosure page.
Get in touch
Have a question about an article, a correction, or a Niigata sake I haven’t tried yet? I’d genuinely like to hear about it. Reach out via the Contact page.