Since 2020, Hector Herrera III, 33, has served as a pastor and head of staff at Omotesando’s Tokyo Union Church, whose ethos is “a community of love for all people.” Married with three children, he is also a foodie and avid reader.

1. Can I start by asking the name of this wonderful-smelling incense you are burning? It’s called kōcha, meaning “aromatic tea.” I have always been drawn toward essential oils and scents, and I fell in love with incense after coming to Japan.

2. Are you drawn to specific elements of Japanese culture? I love the approach toward seasonality here. I think there’s something really beautiful about the Japanese way of understanding when something has ended and it is time to move on, which we do not really see in the American focus on endless expansion and replication of success.

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