The point of this story is simple: it is a real life example of how various people really are. They go from one side of the world to the other, which is what California represents to Japan. They go from one point of view, from the Japanese driven mentality of cut-throat competition and excellence, all the way to the hipster stoners in California. And in between are all the shades of people who don't strictly abide by either extreme.
For Ozeki, there is a difficulty regarding mental health, because her family has a hereditary struggle with suicidal depression, and she understands that those situations were probably worsened by certain elements of Japanese culture, but that doesn't necessarily mean that she can escape from depression by moving, and it seems from the tone of her conversation that she kind of understands that, because she is scrutinizing of everything.
We see that she is passionate about life and living. She doesn't believe in dogmatic principles, and although she loves and respects her family and culture, she understands the brokenness and limitations of her ancestors. Certainly she is not going to become a suicide bomber like her grandfather who was a Kamikaze pilot, but that doesn't necessarily mean she will abandon her family's example completely. She is a brilliant picture of what America is really about, because except for the Native Americans, all Americans are immigrants or the descendants of immigrants.
