From Tokyo to the East Village: Takashi Ikezawa’s Cultural Mission in New York

In a city where cultures collide and coalesce, Resobox founder Takashi Ikezawa found his calling in building a space for people from all walks of life to discover the joys of Japanese culture. In this episode of Lil’ Bites Big Ideas, Ikezawa shares with Peatix CEO Taku Harada on his journey of moving to the city and his deep passion for connecting more people to Japanese culture.

Roots in Japan

“Classes like Ikebana and Bonsai are now very popular, but initially, there was a long period when no one came,” said Ikezawa. Born and raised in Japan, Ikezawa came to New York in 2004, for an MBA in entrepreneurship. After various ventures, he finally arrived at the current Resobox, however it wasn’t a very smooth start with visa issues and low attendance. However, Ikezawa persevered and realized that New Yorkers needed to unite hobbyists within the local community and also introduce them to Japanese products first in order to get them on board.

“You get experienced model builders, mostly Gundam fans who build all the time and they make up about 60 to 70 percent of the crowd. Then there are newcomers, maybe around 30 percent, who are just curious about plastic models. We even see people who know Lego but haven’t touched Gundam or plastic models before, and they get interested in the class. It’s really cool because the advanced builders and enthusiasts share their techniques and talk about what makes Gundam so appealing. It creates this community vibe, almost like a Gundam meetup right there.” It’s in these moments of sharing and discovery that the true soul of Resobox reveals itself.

Growing interest

Ikezawa’s deep connection to Japanese culture is rooted in his four years as a certified mountain guide on Mt. Fuji, a historical and sacred site that holds significant importance for the Japanese people. Through Resobox’s dynamic programmes, Ikezawa champions not only the preservation of Japanese tradition and culture but also giving it a chance to interact and evolve. “What we have valued since our founding is collaboration,” he says. “Our concept has three layers: authentic Japanese culture, the local cultures of New York’s diverse population, and a mashup, by creating something new from 1 and 2,” he said.

With growing curiosity over modern Japanese cultural expressions in terms of anime and food, Ikezawa acknowledged that things have changed significantly. “In the past 3 or 4 years, especially because inbound tourism to Japan has increased, a lot of customers who come to us, say they are going to travel to Japan soon, so they want to learn Japanese culture before that, or they found it so good after going to Japan that they want to keep that feeling, so they take our classes and make suggestions like, “Can you do this kind of event at your place?”, or “It would be great if there were an artist like this,” or “Can you do an exhibition?” I’ve started receiving a lot of such requests.” he shared.

Ikezawa did not just ferry Japanese culture to New York, he invited New York to meet it, learn from it, and grow with it. In doing so, he has nurtured a space where cultures connect, traditions evolve, and community thrives. Learn more about Resobox and experience their programmes at https://resobox.com/