Suo-oshima (Yamaguchi, Japan)

When I first moved here, it was a novelty and I did things like mowing the lawn instead of working out at the gym, going to look at the vegetables in my vegetable garden instead of watching TV, and cooking ingredients "as they are." But after trying out all sorts of things, I now buy vegetables at the supermarket and have my fish prepared by a friendly fishmonger, so my life is not that different from Tokyo.

Certainly, the scenery is full of nature, and the sea spreads out before your eyes, but I feel that you don't need to change your work or lifestyle that much. The members who work in Suo-Oshima play games at night and get their nails done (laughs). Even in the countryside, that kind of thing doesn't change. Of course, people who want to live a country-like life can, and people who don't want to change their convenient lifestyle don't need to change even in the countryside.

Also, in Tokyo, there is a lot of pressure to figure out how to operate within the existing system, but here there seems to be fewer restrictions and it's an environment where it's easy to start something new. For example, if you try to open a new store in Tokyo, it will cost hundreds of thousands of yen to start up, but here there are ways to start without spending that much money, and if it doesn't work out, you can make some changes and try again, so I think there's less risk of failure. The island's population is aging, and it's a tourist destination, so the ratio of consumers to the working population is high, which is another factor that makes it less likely to fail, and it's easy to set up a small business that can support a family's livelihood.

I think most people haven't found what they really want to do, and I'm one of them. In that case, you have a higher chance of success if you do what others want you to do. I think the countryside has more of an environment where you're wanted. Even people who can't find what they want to do might find it easier to find their place here. You're affirmed just by being here (laughs). When people I know start something, they don't need to ask anyone for advice, they start small within their own capabilities. They start on their own, continue if they want to, and try something different if they think it's not right. I feel like the culture of Suo-Oshima, where people around them are watching over them with warmth, suits me.
(As of September 2024)

I lived just a 2-3 minute walk from the office, so my commute has changed a lot. There aren't many people in Suo-Oshima, so the store clerks are very chatty and people talk to me just by being there, so I have a lot of relationships with the neighbors. When I was walking down the street in the summer, people would ask me if I wanted some cucumbers, and some people would bring me oranges they picked to the office.

Also, the members of Suo-Oshima would take turns making lunch together and have a kind of lunch meeting about once or twice a week. When members came from other bases, they would suggest having a barbecue, so I think we were probably more welcoming than at any other base. It was easy to start something like that.
(As of September 2024)

At the Suo-Oshima office, when we discuss work, we end up discussing life before we know it. Everyone has a similar living environment, so it feels like we are all living very close to each other.

The distance between the office and my home is quite close, so I can go get things from home during my short break, eat lunch at home, or even take a short nap before coming back. There are many ways of working that you can't do in Yoyogi. I would wake up at 8:30 and be at the office by 9, so I was able to get a lot of sleep.

I also cooked a lot because I had no choice but to make my own food. When I came to Tokyo, I stopped cooking at all.
(As of September 2024)

After graduating from Kamiyama Monosasu Juku, I joined Monosasu Thailand and then returned to my hometown, but by chance I ended up working in Suo-Oshima.

In Suo-Oshima, between work, I regularly participate in small events such as going to the town hall to get paperwork done, consulting with the car shop about repairs, and meeting my neighbors to get vegetables. This is what I feel has changed from my life in Thailand.

There are regular community cleanups where we clean up the river and pick up fallen leaves from the mountains. When I participated the other day, I was shocked when someone told me, "The loquat trees here belong to a friend, so you can pick them and eat them whenever you like." Participating in community cleanups is not mandatory, but they require manpower, and I participate as much as possible as a sign of gratitude for the support I receive from the community.
(As of September 2024)