Looking back on Kamiyama Monosasu Juku and Kamiyama
~ Maruyama Tomoyuki's perspective ~

Hello, this is Maruyama.
I have returned to Tokyo after teaching in Kamiyama for three months from January to March.
Although it was only three months, I am very glad that I was able to spend such a fulfilling time.

After three months as a teacher, I would like to look back on Kamiyama Monosasu Juku and life in Kamiyama from my own perspective.

The teachers and students were all very close at Kamiyama Monosasu Juku

Group photo of the Kamiyama Monosasu School graduation ceremony

The students at Kamiyama Monosasu Juku

"Learn coding skills and become a web production engineer"

Since they were working hard on coding every day toward this single goal, the conversation naturally turned to coding even during breaks.
Students would start discussing coding topics with each other, saying things like, "I put it together like this, but is it correct?" and after school and on holidays, volunteers would gather in "Kim's Room" (the room where our company's Kim lived during his time at Monosasu Juku) to review lectures and hold study sessions on the latest technologies.

In addition, at the end of the study group, we often went to Kamiyama Onsen in Kamiyama Town to take a dip, or had a drinking party in the name of a study group. We were able to honestly discuss various things, such as what our ideal image for ourselves after joining the company and what skills we should acquire in the future, and we were able to push through to the end with a good relationship.

The students who joined Monosus have now completed their training and have been assigned to various departments and teams, but when I see them still in contact with each other, discussing coding and chatting during breaks, it makes me feel reassured as an instructor that they continue to have good relationships.

Life as a teacher was full of first-time experiences

Of course, it was my first time to teach coding, but it was also my first time meeting with officials from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare and prefectural government, and being interviewed by a newspaper.
Additionally, at the " Kamiyama Now, 3 Days Meeting ," facilitated by Nishimura Yoshitetsu, who has close ties with Monosus, I gave a slide presentation introducing Monosus Juku and Monosus.
It was my first time to introduce my company as a representative, so I was very nervous, but I was very happy that some people became interested in Monosus as a result of the presentation.

I'm excited to think that the fact that I was able to have this valuable experience before I turned 30, which I probably wouldn't have been able to have if I was just working as an ordinary engineer, will have a positive impact on my future life.

Additionally, as an exercise for the Monosasu Juku students to prepare for coding, they also tried their hand at designing websites, using prototyping tools to create mock-ups and struggling to create website designs using the various functions of Photoshop, a tool that they usually only use for slicing.
As I continued designing, the details of the design, which I thought I could achieve as I wanted in code, did not always go as planned, and I thought to myself, "Designers who can incorporate what's in their heads and what their customers want into designs are amazing," but at the same time, I felt a stronger desire than before to "know more about design and be able to design myself."

I believe there is a lot to be gained by trying new things without being confined to the framework of "because I'm a coder" or "because I'm a designer," so I would like to continue this endeavor to challenge myself and learn in other fields.
I also hope to be able to recommend this initiative to those around me.

Differences in attitude before and after teaching at Monosas Juku

When I think back to myself before I became a lecturer, I was always in a rush and had my hands full just thinking about my own affairs. I was going through good and bad times at work and I was easily discouraged mentally.
When I first started as an instructor, I was busy just completing my own tasks while answering questions from 10 people one after another and checking their coding content.

Although I was in that state, I think my awareness was strengthened as I carried out my daily teaching duties, completed tasks that came up unexpectedly, and held Q&A sessions with the students who came by on an irregular basis.
Gradually, my consciousness became able to respond flexibly while looking at the overall picture without panicking. You could also say that I became "tougher-skinned" and "able to look at things objectively."

Life in Kamiyama helped me improve my physical condition

A carpet of rape blossoms blooming on the famous rice terraces of Kamiyama Town

Tokyo is often described as "the city that never sleeps."
It's true that it's rare for the city lights to stay on even in the middle of the night, for there to always be people somewhere, and for the whole city to be quiet.
In contrast, in Kamiyama Town, with the exception of a few shops, most of the stores closed around 8pm and the town began to prepare to go to sleep, and the entire town was enveloped in silence. "Kamiyama, the sleeping town."
Perhaps because of the quietness of the room at night, I was able to concentrate very well on preparing for classes and self-studying web technology, which was extremely helpful.

Also, I've always been a night owl and was always unhealthy in some way, but since I started living in Kamiyama, I naturally started to feel sleepy before midnight, and perhaps because I was getting more sleep, I became healthier. I was truly living in accordance with the rhythm of nature.
Furthermore, this winter has been extremely comfortable and I have not caught any colds that have made me sick!

Furthermore, when talking about Monosasu Juku and Kamiyama Town, it is impossible not to mention the existence of this person.
He was the person who flexibly connected Kamiyama, Monosas, and Monosas Juku.

Akane Saito, the person who gave me the opportunity to become immersed in Kamiyama

Saito playing with the cat Shiro-chan at the "Yamauba" lodge where he is staying.

Saito started living in Kamiyama last November as a student and office worker at Monosasu Juku.
Within a few months, he had blended into the town so well that I thought, "Maybe he's a resident who's been living here for about three or four years?"
Saito himself is not the type of person to actively get involved in communities, but he was able to build friendly relationships with the elderly people in the town and the students at Kamiyama Juku, and even the cats were so attached to him that they were sad to see him go.I think this is a result of the personality that emanates from him.
Also, I myself am not good at actively getting involved in communities, so Saito would often invite me like, "I'm going to a New Year's party with some people from town today, would you like to join me?" and I was very grateful that he frequently created opportunities for me to get involved in the Kamiyama community.

It must have been very difficult to work behind the scenes as an office worker managing documents and other tasks while also learning coding as a student at the school, but thank you for juggling these two jobs.

After finishing my teaching career...

A message book I received from students on the day of the graduation ceremony. It was inspired by my favorite anime and even had the title logo designed in Maruyama style. By the way, the character on the right is a character with the surname "Maruyama" that appears in the work.

I worked passionately as a teacher for three months.
To be honest, it was extremely tough...
However, by taking on the challenge of being a lecturer, living in a different region, and seeing and experiencing things in a different field, I was able to broaden my perspective and develop my way of thinking.
I think if there is something you can challenge yourself with, not just with a teacher, and you feel like you can do "something" that will change you, then you should definitely give it a try.

Also, when your teaching career ends, you don't just go back to Tokyo and say "yes, it's over" and that's it.
I hope to continue to be involved with Kamiyama in the future.

As a web engineer,

"Creating not just a website, but a web that connects people"

I will continue to work hard to make this possible in the future.