An annual tradition. Here are my picks for best purchases of the year.
Shakti Mat
A friend posted somewhere on Facebook saying it was "amazing," so I went with the trend and bought one.
Ever since, I've been dutifully lying naked on a bed of spikes every day. Apparently it stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system and promotes relaxation.
For the first week, I'd think "ow, ow, ow" for a few minutes and then fall asleep on it — which was a satisfying "oh!" moment. Now that it's become a habit, the effect isn't quite as dramatic.
As a side note: after I recommended it aggressively at 10X, a generic Shakti manufactured at one-fifth the cost ended up as a year-end party prize. At our company it's affectionately known as the "Startup Shakti."
Cursor
AI dominated headlines again in 2025, but looking back, the one tool I used consistently throughout the entire year was probably just Cursor.
For me, 2025 was the year Vibe Coding truly began, and Cursor was the backbone of it. I even write Markdown in Cursor now.
I'd adopted Obsidian at the start of the year, but I've since abandoned it and consolidated everything into Cursor.
It's essentially my only editor at this point (aside from using Notion at work), and it's been my partner for building this site, tweaking the design, writing blog posts, and doing Vibe Coding both professionally and personally.
At work, I used it to build an internal service called "Meet-kun," and to develop a barcode generator for customers — tools that helped me close the gap between product management and product development. I feel like Cursor and I have really gotten to know each other.
I wrote about building this site with Cursor here.
Vercel
I think of it as the best partner for Vibe Coding.
At my company we use Google Cloud, and deploying anything requires a security review with the security team, coordinating permissions with the SRE team, managing access via Terraform, and deploying through Cloud Run. I went through that whole process myself to deploy a service this year — and while I got it working, there were plenty of stumbling blocks along the way. It gave me deep respect for the team that navigates those hurdles daily to ship services.
On the other hand, for services I build for myself, I genuinely want to deploy them and put them out in the world with as little friction as possible. Vercel is the answer to that kind of developer.
I started using it for the first time this year, and the ease of just pushing to GitHub and having the service go live is remarkable. I already have three services running on my personal account, and it supports my daily development.
Gold and India
There's an ongoing debate about whether AI (LLM) is a bubble.
I can't say for certain, but I do think expectations have gotten ahead of reality. The chart below, for example, shows that data center completions are declining while construction interruptions are rising and planned projects are piling up enormously. Even the LLM supply chain can't keep up with expectations.
I use various AI tools daily, but what's actually stuck around on my desk is only Cursor, Claude, and Google products. I haven't logged into ChatGPT in over a year. These tools satisfy small specific needs, but I haven't felt that they dramatically increase my productivity.
When I analyze our company's labor productivity, LLM's contribution is genuinely small (not for lack of trying), and the reality hasn't caught up with expectations.
(Internal monologue: I want LLMs to run the company while I sleep, put out fires on burning projects, clean the bathroom, make dinner, and do school pickups — but none of that is happening!!)
I think LLM will continue to evolve gradually, but whether it can meet my expectations or the market's expectations is something I'll watch carefully.
I don't have a lot of surplus cash, but I've been steadily investing in S&P 500 up to now — primarily to diversify away from my heavy domestic exposure (including company stock).
But the current S&P 500 feels like a sharp, pointed index that's essentially betting on LLM hype. I no longer trust it as a diversification destination over the long term. Even global equities are 60% US.
So I unwound those positions and shifted this year into gold (specifically an index tied to it) and India, which has strong demographic tailwinds for continued growth. I don't want alpha from investing — I just want safe, mindless compounding — so I'm going to leave it alone. Next year my NISA growth investment allowance resets, so I'll probably add Vietnam and South America to the mix.
Japan's inflation rate makes me want domestic index exposure too, but given how concentrated I already am domestically — and given that I firmly believe my company will grow faster than any index — I won't touch that.
Under Armour Baseball Turf Shoes
My eldest son started youth baseball at the end of last year. This year my second son joined the same team, and around the same time I became a coach and started attending practices and games every weekend.
I've played a wide range of sports throughout my life, but baseball was new to me. So as a coach, I spent the year figuring out how to get better myself while teaching the kids — a co-learning, co-enjoying style.
I'm well into middle age, but I'm still finding ways to improve technically and run faster, incorporating new things into daily training. Sports are definitely something to do rather than just watch. I'm having a lot of fun.
These turf shoes were what I bought to support my footwork on the field.
I heard that wearing running shoes on dirt fields can cause slipping and injury when cutting quickly, so I picked these up with proper traction. They're already pretty beaten up — I might need to replace them annually.
Beauty&Youth Loafers
I've stopped wearing sneakers as much.
My wardrobe hasn't changed much overall, but since I tend toward casual clothes, I lean on loafers to pull an outfit together. I bought two pairs — black and a coin loafer in brown — and alternate based on my mood.
I paid full price, and then they went on massive sale. That hurts.
KOMATSU PACK 2-Button Relaxed Silhouette Jacket — Coordinated Suit, Water-Repellent
Wearing a full suit in summer has become genuinely painful.
When I wear a suit, it's almost exclusively for in-person client visits — and I want to minimize both the travel discomfort and the additional luggage.
On top of that, clients have been dressing down in recent years due to the brutal summer heat, and I've started getting told to remove my tie when I show up in a full suit.
All of this made me want a casual suit-like coordinate for regular client visits, and I bought it together with the loafers mentioned above. The fact that it's machine-washable sealed the deal — I wore this almost exclusively for spring and summer.
I paid full price, and then... (same story as above).
remakebyk Remake Jacket
Technically I bought this back in November 2024, and I forgot to include it last year — but I plan to own it for as long as my body holds up, so here it is a year late.
A brand that reimagines vintage and military materials, handmaking each piece individually. This jacket, I was told, was made by deconstructing a military bag.
I fell for it at a pop-up event and was aggressively talked into buying it by the staff. Japan's climate lately leaves little room for in-between-season layering pieces, which is the main challenge with it.
marka Wool Serge Tumbler / Raglan Sleeve Coat, Chambray Black
I'm a fan of brand founder Shunsuke Ishikawa, a true materials enthusiast. I follow him on YouTube.
After watching too many of his videos, I became drawn to the appeal of natural fibers. He talks about the functional properties of natural materials like wool that synthetics simply can't replicate, and the way the brand takes those material qualities and works them into contemporary silhouettes.
I'd been waiting to buy something from marka for a while. On my way back through Tokyo Station to catch the Shinkansen home, I stumbled across a marka pop-up, walked in, tried on everything, and walked out with this coat. I plan to wear it carefully and brush it regularly.
※ Sold out.
