It's already been five months since Nagai started living on Suo-Oshima.
When I first moved here in March, it was so cold that I was fooled by the image of the warm Setouchi Sea! I have fond memories of regretting having already put away my winter clothes. Since July, summer has arrived, and I can enjoy swimming in the sea at the private beach (I call it that because there is hardly anyone there in the middle of the day) just a two-minute walk from my house. On hot days, if I have an hour to spare, I can quickly swim in the sea for about 30 minutes, shower and get ready in 30 minutes, and return to work in the afternoon (sorry to everyone in Tokyo).
This month, I will be sharing information about life on Suo-Oshima, the differences between life here and Tokyo, and things I have noticed along the way.
Daily life (Tokyo vs Suo-Oshima)
"Unlike Tokyo, there's nothing to do and you're probably bored."
"Isn't it inconvenient for transportation and shopping around here?"
When I started living on Suo-Oshima, my neighbors and relatives who lived nearby would often say things like that to me. But to be honest, I didn't really notice the changes.
Even when I was living in Tokyo, on my days off I would either go to the gym pool, watch TV, or occasionally make an effort to go to a hot spring in Hakone or Shizuoka.
For those of you who have lived in Suo-Oshima all your life, do you imagine people living in Tokyo going shopping in downtown areas like Shibuya or Shinjuku every week, going to the movies, or going to popular cafes and events...?
Home garden in Suo-Oshima. Today's harvest is cucumbers and green beans. Corn will be ready soon.
Since coming to Suo-Oshima, I've been mowing the grass instead of working out at the gym (it takes a lot of energy!), going to check on the progress of my vegetables in my home garden instead of watching TV (there's something different every day so I never get bored), and going to the hot springs takes just 20 minutes instead of the 1-2 hour trip each way. ...See, not much has changed, has it?!
How to spend money (Tokyo vs. Suo-Oshima)
However, there were unexpected differences when it came to how people spent their money. It will vary from person to person and from family to family, but I would like to introduce my own case.
This is an example of a couple who live together, both of whom are big foodies and drink a lot. On the other hand, they are satisfied with Uniqlo or MUJI (simple clothes that are durable and last a long time) when it comes to clothing, and don't buy much.
Monthly living expenses
| Living in Tokyo (Atsugi City, Kanagawa Prefecture) | Life on Suo-Oshima Island | Increase/decrease | |
| rent | 150,000 yen | 5,000 yen! (Average price is 20,000 to 50,000 yen) | −140,000 yen |
| Food expenses (including alcohol) | 100,000 yen ~ ∞ (!) | 40,000 yen | −60,000 yen or more |
| Housekeeping | 30,000 yen | 0 yen | −30,000 yen |
| Gym | 20,000 yen | 0 yen | −20,000 yen |
| Utility bills | 15,000 to 20,000 yen | 20,000 yen | Almost ±0 yen |
| Gasoline expenses (excluding commuting) | 0 to 10,000 yen | 20,000 to 30,000 yen | +20,000 yen |
| Neighborhood Association Fees and Neighborhood Relationships | Almost 0 yen | 2,000 yen to 10,000 yen | +10,000 yen |
| total | About 330,000 yen | About 110,000 yen | −Approximately 220,000 yen |
The difference of about 200,000 yen between rent and food costs is significant.
Of course, rent varies depending on land prices, but in my family's case, the biggest difference was in food costs.
As both my husband and I worked full-time, we ate out almost every day in Tokyo, and we both love to eat and drink, so we realized that our food expenses were very high. I'll tell you more about food later.
Also, although the proportion of the amount is not that great, our lives have changed since we no longer have to pay 30,000 yen a month for a housekeeping service (who cleans the house and does laundry once or twice a week). Cleaning the house, doing the laundry for two people, taking out the trash, and other tasks that we had previously paid for are now all our own work.
As an aside, if one or both spouses are not particularly fond of housework and both partners are working and want to work hard, I highly recommend using a housekeeping service. Even if it seems a bit wasteful, I would like as many people as possible to experience the happiness of having a clean house and being able to buy time for your family to smile for just 30,000 yen. (It's a shame that housekeeping services are no longer available on Suo-Oshima!)
On the other hand, some expenses have increased since coming to Suo-Oshima.
First of all, gasoline costs. It takes more than an hour to get to the supermarket and the nearest station, and on top of that, we drive on mountain roads that are less fuel-efficient, so gasoline runs out faster than expected. Also, there are local festivals and events once every one or two months, so we have to make donations and pay for meals at those events, which are unexpected expenses that we didn't have to pay before.
If you go off the prefectural road a little, you'll find a road like this. You have to push aside grass and avoid vines, and the slope is probably about 30 degrees! It must be bad for your fuel economy.
The total amount of utility bills has not increased or decreased, but the additional cost of pumping the water (there is no sewer system here) was expensive, even though the electricity bill has gone down because we are using the air conditioner less often! Well, this is a manual job, so it's a bit of a pain. It can't be helped.
Before I started living here, someone in charge of promoting permanent residence in Suo-Oshima warned me, "It's a lie that it won't cost you anything in the countryside! You can't live with such naive thinking." I think this is to prevent people from dreaming of a self-sufficient life that costs almost no money (apparently there are a surprisingly large number of people like that), only to be disappointed when they actually arrive. Still, I think you can live a decent life for less money than in urban areas.
The most unusual diet
While it costs less money, the things that require more wisdom and time in life have changed. In my case, the biggest change was my diet.
Before coming to Suo-Oshima, my biggest concern was not being able to eat out anymore. I ate out almost every day, so I was worried that cooking for myself would be stressful. Fried foods that are hard to replicate the taste of a professional, chunky meat dishes, pizza and grilled offal that are only available at restaurants... The lack of variety in my food options was a big concern for me, who loves food.
However, it's now been five months since I actually moved, and so far I'm surprisingly not feeling any stress.
The reason is the ingredients. The ingredients here are fresh and in season! Just being fresh means they're delicious! So even simple dishes like boiled vegetables and grilled fish are delicious enough.
Examples of ingredients from Suo-Oshima. From the top left, butterbur, horse mackerel, shiitake mushrooms, rockfish, bamboo shoots, spinach, onions with leaves and taros, wakame seaweed (raw), and potatoes. Because we picked or received seafood and mountain produce, it cost us zero yen! However, from the time they arrive at our house until they are served on our table, it takes a little more effort than buying them at a supermarket in the city.
Of course, supermarkets and convenience stores in my hometown have a selection that is not much different from that in urban areas, so I have no trouble buying things. When I want to take it easy, there are days when I can get by with just cup ramen and frozen gyoza dumplings.
"Shall I just have instant curry today?"
However, it is only on days when you are in that mood that you can enjoy freshly picked ingredients.
Being a foodie, I just can't leave these things in front of me.
However, they arrive at my house in the same state as they are in the field or in the sea. It was my first time to see dark unboiled wakame seaweed, and I had never actually experienced the disgusting slimy texture of raw octopus (which I won't post because it doesn't look good in photos).
Cooking food "as is" is inconvenient and laborious in some ways. When eating out, you pay and the food is ready to eat right away, but vegetables need to be washed to remove any dirt, and bamboo shoots need to be boiled for an hour just to remove the bitterness. Fish that were swimming in the sea need to have their innards and scales removed one by one, of course.
In this way, in exchange for spending less money, I have gained more knowledge and time to live. I am grateful to Google Sensei for teaching me so many things every day, such as how to boil butterbur and how to fillet fish!
Affluent life = inconvenient life?
Although I am living this kind of life now, while I was living in the city I felt uncomfortable with the media and people who glorified rural life, describing it as a "rich life" or a "careful life."
Isn't that just a glorification of the inconvenience?
Isn't it just an excuse to give up on making a lot of money and enjoying the services you want?
What is it about that that you envy and admire so much?
However, since coming to Suo-Oshima, I have come to understand a little bit about the value of solving parts of life not with money, but with the wisdom and effort of myself and those around me.
But, if I put it into words, it sounds trite, and it's the same as those phrases that I've felt uncomfortable with, so I'll stop here for now. And someday, when I can put it into words that I can be satisfied with, I'd like to convey it again.