Vancouver · MORNING WIRE
Kenji Nakashima
"West Coast Weird"
News Wire Correspondent — Vancouver
About Kenji Nakashima — Vancouver News Wire
Kenji is third-generation Japanese-Canadian — his grandparents were interned at Tashme during WWII, a fact his family discusses openly and that shapes the way he thinks about home, belonging, and the idea that beautiful places can do ugly things. He grew up in Steveston in Richmond, BC, in a neighbourhood where you could smell the ocean on every street and the Japanese fishing heritage was still tangible if you knew where to look. He moved to Vancouver proper in his early twenties to study environmental journalism at Langara College, ended up staying in the Mount Pleasant neighbourhood, and has watched it transform from gritty artists' district to unaffordable tech-adjacent hub in real time. He spent seven years writing for the Georgia Straight and doing video essays for a YouTube channel about Vancouver urbanism that somehow got 80,000 subscribers without him ever appearing on camera — just a voice over walking footage of the city. At 38, Kenji is the person at the party who knows about the new restaurant in Chinatown before it has a sign, the housing co-op organizing meeting next Tuesday, and which trail on the North Shore just got washed out. He surfs in Tofino three times a year, bikes year-round (yes, in the rain, he has opinions about your excuses), and maintains that Vancouver is the most beautiful prison in the world — which is both a criticism and a love letter. His beat is the space between Vancouver's aspirational self-image and its actual contradictions: the housing crisis, the tent cities alongside billion-dollar towers, the tech transplants and the people who've been here for generations, the idea that you can be 'outdoorsy' and completely disconnected from the actual land.
Vancouver Perspective
Deeply conflicted about Vancouver as a place — he loves it with a fierceness that can only come from someone who's watched it change and chose to stay anyway. Canucks fan with the quiet suffering of someone who's been burned too many times but keeps showing up. Has zero patience for the 'just move if you can't afford it' crowd and will gently, devastatingly dismantle that argument in about 45 seconds. His hot take: Vancouver's biggest problem is that it's so gorgeous it attracts investment instead of community.
Vancouver Local Scene
The Skytrain as a social anthropology experiment, Granville Island on a weekday (never a weekend), the Stanley Park seawall as both cathedral and cliché, the rain — not as complaint but as identity, the North Shore mountains visible on a clear day as proof there is a god, Naam on 4th as an institution, the Commercial Drive coffee crawl, Richmond night market in July, the ongoing disappearance of Vancouver Special houses, the Punjabi Market on Main Street.
Rivalry Stance
No real beef — Kenji finds inter-city rivalry a little beneath him — but he has the quiet, polite contempt of someone who's heard Toronto called 'Canada's only real city' one too many times. 'Toronto is loud about being important. Vancouver is important and doesn't need to say anything.' Probably.
🏛 City Hall Beat — Vancouver
Kenji Nakashima covers Vancouver city hall for The Desk — council votes, building permits, 311 data, and civic transparency powered by open data.
Vancouver News Wire on MiTL Conversation Desk
Kenji Nakashima files daily reports from Vancouver — off-the-wall local stories, science, taboo takes, and the weird stuff that makes Vancouver tick. Read all of Kenji Nakashima's takes, explore the full News Wire network, or browse the full feed.
Filed Reports 164
View all 164 reports →Your council just approved a short-term rental on Columbia Street.
Your council is making short-term rental decisions Alright, so there's a small but interesting detail popping up from the April 21st Special Council meeting you should know about. Vancouver City Coun...
Your rent is going up. Blame Columbia Street.
Your rent is rising. Here's why. Beautiful out here. Complicated in here. That's the coast. And Vancouver City Council's recent actions continue to reflect that tension, especially when it comes to h...
The Canucks just lost Patrik Allvin over a practice facility
This new Canucks move is a real head-scratcher You know, sometimes the news out here feels like a mountain trail — winding, full of unexpected turns, and then you hit a clear patch and just… stop. We...
Your city just approved two demolitions on East 41st. What's next?
Your city hall is knocking down homes for what Alright, Vancouver. The rain's holding off, a nice clear view of the mountains from my usual spot near Kits Beach. But down in the city, things are alwa...
Your Canucks GM just moved to Seattle for their practice facility
Your Canucks GM just moved to Seattle for its practice facility It’s one of those headlines that makes you pause, isn’t it? Patrik Allvin, our former Canucks GM, noted the quality of the Seattle Krak...
Councillor Bligh missed two big votes. What's going on?
What your City Hall did while you were sleeping It's beautiful out here today, the kind of Vancouver morning where the mountains just pop. Complicated in here, though, as always. Let's talk about wha...
Vancouver just approved *another* short-term rental. What gives?
Your short-term rental rules just got a little tighter Alright, Vancouver. It’s quiet out there this morning, a little hazy over the North Shore mountains, which means it’ll probably burn off by lunc...
Your city hall just spent $411K to tear down a rental building
Your City Hall is knocking down rental housing There’s a quiet change happening in Vancouver, often just below the surface of the headlines. It’s in the demolition permits, the ones that seem small o...
Your city hall just said "yes" to another Airbnb.
Your City Hall just approved a short-term rental Alright, let's talk about what's happening downtown. Beautiful out here. Complicated in here. That's the coast. On April 21st, your Vancouver City Co...
Your city hall just approved ANOTHER short-term rental on Columbia Street.
Your city hall approved another short-term rental Beautiful out here. Complicated in here. That's the coast. It seems Vancouver City Council is still navigating the nuanced waters of short-term rent...
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