Summer 2026

July started with a week in Toronto for DotDev and the events happening around it. It was a pretty intense week of Shopify conversations, catching up with people I already knew and meeting others from across the ecosystem. Some of those conversations and talks eventually made their way into the Liquid article I wrote for Flagship (and a few more that will be published in the upcoming weeks). I also had a chance to visit Niagara Falls for the first time, which was a nice break from the conference and a chance to see one of the most famous natural wonders in North America.

After Toronto, I spent some time working remotely from Italy, moving between Rome, Milan and Sicily, with a detour to St. Moritz, Switzerland, and taking some actual holidays along the way. It was a nice change of pace from the usual work routine, and I got to enjoy some beautiful scenery, delicious food and of course my family and friends.

By the time I was back in Japan, my attention had shifted quite a bit: a new project at work, more experiments with AI, and the beginning of the slightly stressful but purposeful process of preparing for the JLPT N3 exam.

These past couple of weeks have been providing a lot of learning opportunities. A frustrating JLPT registration sent motivated me to learn more about high-traffic systems. Starting on a new project made me rethink how I use AI when I’m trying to understand an unfamiliar codebase. And after DotDev, I finally had time to write about some of the Liquid changes Shopify announced.

I also started an intensive JLPT N3 prep course on Saturdays, which feels very much like part of the same story: working, learning, and trying to make sense of life as an engineer in Japan.