Published November 18, 2024

As a part of the Little Tokyo community, you are bound to run into someone you know. One of those familiar faces is Mike Okamura. With the curveballs of his career plus being a solo ager and key member of Little Tokyo, Mike has led a unique and impactful life journey to share about embracing purpose. In reflection, Mike shared that he’s “living in the moment and enjoying every day. A new day is not guaranteed, so I embrace it as a gift.”

Finding a New Purpose

After working in banking for 41 years, Mike had a complete shift in direction of what he wanted to do in life. During the Great Recession, Mike lost his job and was unemployed for fourteen months. While job hunting, he started volunteering at the Japanese American National Museum (JANM) as a tour guide, catalyzing his involvement in the Little Tokyo community. Since then, Mike’s love for the Japanese American community grew stronger, and he found great purpose volunteering. 

Mike was eventually hired again but had a lingering feeling that his life’s purpose was not being fulfilled at this job. Years later, he struggled with his job during the pandemic since he lived alone and had to see most of his clients online. Working without purpose to drive him and struggling with social isolation during the pandemic, led Mike to retire in 2021.

Opening up about the realities of that time, Mike shared, “It was really difficult for me—physically, mentally, and emotionally. I could have stayed another year or two at the bank so my pension would be higher, but was it worth it? No, because I was too stressed.”

Introducing Mike 2.0

Walking into his retirement, Mike was filled with joy on what he wanted to accomplish. “After many decades of working, many people don’t know what to do with the next phase of their life. Whereas I already knew I would become more involved in the community and even delve into new things that were not part of my life or maybe I had not done in many years. I was telling my colleagues when I retired that there would be a ‘Mike 2.0’ version of myself, and that is exactly what happened,” shared Mike.

Mike continued volunteering at JANM and became president at the Little Tokyo Historical Society where he gives regular walking tours of Little Tokyo. Mike also recently volunteered at the Keiro no Hi Festival hosted by Keiro where he connected with other community members. Along with his vast community involvement, Mike explored other hobbies such as traveling, shodo (Japanese calligraphy), gardening, yoga, pilates, and more. 

To Mike’s surprise, his retirement journey also led him right back to work less than a week after he retired! Mike soon began working one day a week at Azay, a family-owned restaurant with elements of Japanese and French cuisines in Little Tokyo. Three years later, Mike still finds joy in meeting patrons and serving the community.

Change in Plans

Shortly after Mike’s retirement, his parents began to experience health issues. For roughly fifteen months after retiring, Mike put his plans and hobbies on hold to take care of his parents. Mike’s family was fortunate enough to be able to hire an in-home caregiver for his father, and his mother was also able to utilize Iyashi Care, a culturally-sensitive palliative care partnership between Keiro and Providence.

Even after both of his parents passed away, Mike continued to attend Keiro’s annual Caregiver Conference and currently leads an informal caregiver support group that he started at JANM for volunteers and staff. He commented, “It’s not a lonely journey if you’re willing to share it. I’ve gained more knowledge, empathy, patience, and caring because of the journey I was on with my parents, and it’s important for me to share that information with those who would be able to benefit from it.” 

The Solo Ager Journey

While on paper Mike fits the definition of a solo ager, he does not consider himself as one. “It doesn’t come to mind that I’m old or aging. Although sometimes I physically feel it, it hasn’t really changed the way I do things,” Mike stated.

Mike has built a strong support system for himself with members of various communities he’s involved with, including his church and caregiver support group, and other solo agers. He is especially grateful to have friends who are solo agers, as they occasionally support one another with appointments and can talk about related experiences together. Mike also said that in the future, they jokingly tossed around the idea of having a group home together when they get older! 

Besides facing the challenges of figuring out who will take care of him when he gets older and handling his financial assets, one of Mike’s biggest concerns as a solo ager with no children is being able to pass on his family stories and knowledge of Little Tokyo. Taking on the role of family historian, Mike documents his family heritage to share with his nephews and family at large. As a docent of Little Tokyo walking tours, he works to ensure that the ethnic enclave’s legacy lives on. 

The Next Steps on Mike’s Path

Mike always had his eye on temporarily moving back to Japan, and now that he has more time, he is working on concrete plans to make that dream come true.  While in Japan, he wants to connect more with his relatives in Fukushima, Tottori, and Wakayama and research more of his family history. He sees this as an opportunity to experience a new lifestyle, while he still has the physical determination to do so, and explore new hobbies, including learning how to play koto.

In the meantime, Mike plans to continue his purpose-driven path of serving the community and doing things that he loves. “There are all these doors in front of me that I can go through and try out. If I don’t like it, then I try something else. I’m here on this Earth once, and I want to experience things that I will enjoy.”